Bodies Believed to Belong to Mother and Daughter Who Disappeared 50 Years Ago Found in Florida Canal

Doris Wurst and her 3-year-old daughter Caren were reported missing on Nov. 12, 1974

The bodies of a mother and her young child who went missing in Florida in 1974 may have finally been found, the Plantation Police Department (PDP) said on Tuesday, Aug. 13.

On Tuesday, Aug. 13, the PDP shared a media release stating that the human remains that dive teams recovered in a canal on Aug. 10 are believed to be those of Doris Wurst, 34, and her 3-year-old daughter, Caren Wurst.

The two were reported missing on Nov. 12, 1974 from their home located at 13411 NW 2nd St. in Plantation. At the time it was known as Sunshine City Trailer Park. It is no longer in existence.

Wurst’s 1961 Chevrolet Impala was also unaccounted for at the time of their disappearance.

Related: ‘Badly Decomposed’ Human Remains Found Over 3 Decades Ago Identified as Man Who Went Missing in Niagara Falls

With law enforcement unable to locate the mother and her child, the case eventually went cold. It was reopened in 1977, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018, but “results were negative,” per the PDP.

Eventually, Sunshine State Sonar, a group that conducts volunteer searches for vehicular missing person cases in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, got involved and began doing Pro bono searches in June 2023.

On Saturday, Aug. 10, the organization found what they believed to be the missing vehicle in a canal near the 10100 block of W. Broward Boulevard.

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Per the PDP press release, “a SCUBA dive search revealed that it was a 60s model Chevrolet Impala.”

Skeletal remains consistent with an adult and a child were also uncovered at the site.

“Next of kin have been contacted regarding the likelihood that the remains of their loved ones have been located, but the names are being withheld until proper identification of the deceased can be verified via DNA/Dental Records,” the PDP statement read.

“There was a hole in the roof on the vehicle and as I got right above the top of the vehicle I shined my flashlight in that hole and I saw what I didn’t know what it was at the time, it looked like a purse or little briefcase,” Michael Sullivan of Sunshine State Solar told NBC Miami.

“I grabbed it and when I got it up to the surface and saw what it was – it was a Fisher Price kids toy. Me and my brother just looked at each other and it was a pretty emotional moment because, to us, it was Caren, it was Caren saying, ‘I’m here, you got me,’ ” Sullivan continued.

Related: Remains Found in Submerged Car Belong to Mom Missing Since 2010, Family Says: ‘We Have Closure’

Piedad Caballero lives near where the vehicle and skeletal remains were found. Over the weekend, she received a visit from members of Sunshine State Sonar, who asked if they could gain access to the canal from her property.

“We’ve been here 20 years and we’ve been sleeping with dead bodies there over 20 years, not knowing. Who knows how many more are in there,” Caballero told NBC Miami. “It’s really scary.”

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