20-year search for missing high school student leads to hidden grave, Florida cops say

The search for a 16-year-old Florida girl who vanished in 2004 may have come to an end with the discovery of an unmarked burial site, according to investigators.

An excavation of the spot revealed human remains, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office reported Feb. 28. 

“The remains are believed to be those of Autumn Lane McClure, a Mainland High School student who was last seen May 10, 2004, when her boyfriend dropped her off at the Volusia Mall,” the sheriff’s office said.

Much about her disappearance remains a mystery, including a cause of death.

It’s also a case where justice may never be served.

A person of interest was identified in 2021, but that person died in May 2022, the sheriff’s office said. The identity of that person has not been released.

The investigation continued, including obtaining DNA from family members and searching for witnesses, officials said. That led “to a suspected burial site in the Ormond Beach area,” the sheriff’s office said. Ormond Beach is about 60 miles northeast of Orlando.

McClure was classified as an “endangered runaway,” according to The Charley Project. The site reports the girl has a grandmother who continued to live in the Ormond Beach area as of October 2021.

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