Cold Case Crack: Could Submerged Car Hold Answers to 44-Year-Old Mystery?
The discovery of a submerged vehicle in a Georgia pond is sparking renewed hope for the family of a New York couple who vanished without a trace over four decades ago.
Christine Heller Seaman, now 60, was just 15 years old when her grandmother, Catherine Romer, and her step-grandfather, Charles Romer, disappeared while driving home to Scarsdale, New York, after a trip to Miami Beach in April 1980.
Human remains, along with personal belongings including jewelry and a license plate bearing the initials of the missing couple, were found inside the submerged 1978 Lincoln Continental.
While positive identification has not been confirmed, the grim discovery has convinced Seaman, now residing in Scotland, whose grandmother was very close to her and her eight sisters. The heartbroken granddaughter vividly remembers the unsettling look on her father’s face when a detective relayed that the couple was missing.
"We saw his face and he said, ‘Something is very, very wrong,’” she recalled. Her father, the missing woman’s only child, had not heard from his mother, which was out of character.
Catherine Romer, described as "the life of the party" by her granddaughter, adored reminding her granddaughters of "how much she loved them." She lovingly volunteered at their British school and was a treasured part of their lives.
Charles Romer, her second husband, was equally cherished as a kind and generous man. The couple held a dear place in the hearts of those who knew them.
Seaman, who had resigned herself to the fact that she might not know what happened to her beloved grandparents, received a phone call on Friday from a detective informing her about the discovery.
While the possibility of this being the end of their 44-year ordeal is settling in, Seaman said, "both my grandmother and my grandfather, honestly, I’ve always felt in my heart they were involved in some sort of accident."
"It’s something you hold with you every single day of your life … if they were tortured or harmed."
The recent discovery has alleviated some angst from a lifetime of wondering, bringing warmth where there was once only chilling uncertainty. The Romers’ sudden disappearance sparked concern about potential foul play at the time due to the |substantial jewelry |Catherine Romer was wearing.
The family had not heard news of their disappearance since reporting them missing from a Holiday Inn in Brunswick, Georgia, where staff noticed their bed had not been used. Despite several leads along the way they remain hopeful they will find confirmation in identity.
"I never went a day without worrying or thinking about it," Seaman said. “For years and years, we didn’t hear anything. It has been a constant thought every day of my life since.”
Seaman said it was a rare moment of closure for the family. They spent Thanksgiving reflecting on their missing relatives. “It wasn’t a sad Thanksgiving,” she said. “It was a happy time because of this resolve we’re feeling. It sort of gave us permission to celebrate their lives and talk about the fun memories without the feeling of dread, sorrow and sadness."
The car, found in a pond between the Royal Inn Hotel and the Interstate, is believed to belong to the missing couple. The Glynn County Police Department is collaborating with the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation in investigating the case.
Despite the long wait for closure, Seaman believes this may be the answer the family has been seeking for decades.
“We’re all in shock,” she shared, “but … we have this gratitude for the people that hunted this whole mystery down
Could the discovery of the submerged car finally solve the mystery of the Romer couple’s disappearance?
## Cold Case Crack: Could Submerged Car Hold Answers to 44-Year-Old Mystery?
**Host:** Joining us today to discuss a fascinating new development in a decades-old cold case is Christine Heller Seaman. Christine, your grandparents, Charles and Catherine Romer, vanished in 1980. Can you tell us about their disappearance?
**Christine:** Certainly. My grandparents were driving back to Scarsdale, New York, from a trip to Miami Beach in April 1980, when they simply disappeared. My father, their only child, hadn’t heard from them, which was very unusual. We all knew something was terribly wrong when a detective came to the house. The look on my father’s face said it all.
**Host:** What led you to believe they might have been involved in an accident?
**Christine:** I don’t know exactly. It’s just a feeling I’ve always had. They were such loving people, so devoted to their family. It just didn’t seem possible they would have chosen to vanish.
**Host:** And now, after all these years, there was a potential break in the case. How did you find out about the discovery of the submerged car in Georgia?
**Christine:** Last Friday, a detective contacted us. They had found a car matching the description of my grandparents’ Lincoln in a pond near the hotel where they were last seen. Human remains and belongings including jewelry and a license plate with their initials were inside.
**Host:** What’s going through your mind right now? Is this giving you closure after all these years?
**Christine:** It’s a lot to process, you know? Resurfacing emotions after so long. While identification hasn’t been confirmed, I do feel a sense of relief mixed with sadness. This could finally give our family some answers after 44 years.
**Host:** It certainly offers a glimmer of hope after all this time. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Christine. Our thoughts are with you and your family.
**(Note:** This interview is based on the information provided in the search results. Real-life interviews will naturally include more personal anecdotes and emotional details.) [[1](https://apnews.com/article/missing-new-york-couple-submerged-car-georgia-fbe9c61a29b1da4feb463964441d38b4)]
