Remains found by kayakers in Florida identified as woman who vanished in 1985; police seek killer

Human remains discovered in a Florida canal two years ago have been identified as those of a woman who disappeared in 1985 police said.

Kayakers happened upon the remains in May 2024, in a canal in northeastern Cape Coral, according to the Cape Coral Police Department. Investigators were able to confirm the remains belonged to Rose Marie Gayhart, who disappeared at age 23, in May of this year, the police department said. 

Its violent crimes unit worked with a local medical examiner’s office and a sheriff’s office in New York, where Gayhart was originally from, in order to determine the identity of the remains, which they ultimately confirmed using DNA samples provided by her family members.

Police said Gayhart’s death is now under investigation as a homicide.

“While this identification brings long-awaited answers, it also strengthens our resolve,” Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore said in a statement. “No matter how much time passes, even after four decades, our investigations do not stop, and our pursuit of justice does not end. This is now considered an active homicide investigation, and we are committed to following every lead.”

Sizemore asked anyone with information about the case to report what they know to the police department, “so we can help bring accountability and closure to this case and to the family.”

Gayhart was reported missing by her parents, who lived in Danville, New York, in 1985, according to Cape Coral police, which said she had been living and working in the Cape Coral and North Fort Myers area at the time. 

CBS affiliate WINK reported that Gayhart was last seen at the Cape Coral restaurant where she worked, which was previously known as Big Howie’s Hot Dogs. She was living in a trailer park in North Fort Myers with her boyfriend and his mother, according to the station.

Her sister, Laurie Travis, searched for details about what may have happened to Gayhart for decades following her disappearance, WINK reported.

“It doesn’t get better, we just get through it,” Travis told WINK in a 2017 interview, in which she recalled that Gayhart “was really happy” and had asked Travis to visit her in Florida just two weeks before she disappeared.

“I think she was murdered, the neighbors were all saying when they did the investigation,” Travis said. “Also, there was a lot of crashing and banging and fighting going on at the trailer park all the time.”