Police in Florida say human remains found by a work crew clearing thick overgrowth in 2009 have been identified as a 23-year-old man who left home nearly 40 years ago and never returned.
Clermont police announced this week that the remains belong to Ernest Joe Manzanares, who disappeared on July 28, 1988, after leaving his family's home in Ocoee.
Relatives told investigators he went out that night to confront two family members and was expected to come back, but he was never seen again. His disappearance left his family without answers for decades, according to People.
In July 2009, workers clearing overgrowth on property that is now Lake Hiawatha Preserve discovered skeletal remains. Forensic experts confirmed they were human and from an adult male, and evidence was sent for DNA testing, but the case went cold when no match was found. Police said they did not stop working on the case, but traditional methods could not identify the man.
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In 2024, the medical examiner's office received a genetic genealogy grant from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and submitted evidence from the case to Othram, a Texas-based lab that uses advanced DNA technology to solve cold cases. On Dec. 29, investigators were told the remains were those of Manzanares.
Clermont Police Capt. Malcolm Draper called the identification the result of years of persistence and collaboration, and said advances in forensic science made possible what could not be done in 2009, Crime Online reported.
Ocoee Police Chief Vincent Ogburn said the identification brings some measure of closure to Manzanares' relatives, who can now lay him to rest. Retired Ocoee Det. Michelle Grogan said it was bittersweet to call his daughter, who was grateful for answers but had always hoped her father might walk back into her life.
Grogan said Manzanares' mother later told investigators the family had been dealing with domestic violence before he vanished, and that he left home that night planning to confront relatives over alleged plans to harm his young sister and niece. Investigators said they still do not know exactly what happened to him, and the investigation remains open, as per AOL News.
