Remains of Woman Missing Since 1985 Identified in Florida; Police Seek Red Pickup Truck Driver

A kayaker’s discovery in a northeast Cape Coral canal has solved a four-decade mystery. Human remains found in May 2024 have been confirmed as those of Rose Marie Gayhart, a 23-year-old woman who vanished in March 1985 after relocating to Southwest Florida from Dansville, New York.

Gayhart’s family reported her missing after her frequent phone calls and letters abruptly ceased. She had been living with her boyfriend Robert Paddock and his mother in a trailer, having moved to the Cape Coral and North Fort Myers area just three months before her disappearance.

Investigators determined that Gayhart left the residence after being forced out, walking down the street with a suitcase. A neighbor reported that Gayhart came to her home to contact her family and revealed she was pregnant, stating she wanted to keep the child against her boyfriend’s wishes.

The day she vanished, staff at Howie’s Hot Dogs, where Gayhart had recently begun working, reported that she departed with an unknown man driving a red pickup truck. Two separate witnesses independently corroborated seeing Gayhart with a white male operator of a red pickup truck in the days preceding her disappearance.

DNA testing conducted after authorities obtained samples from Gayhart’s family confirmed the skull’s identity two years after its discovery. Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore stated the case is now classified as an active homicide investigation and urged anyone with information about the red pickup truck driver to contact authorities.