Photo Credit: CBS Evening News

Note: we are republishing this story which originally made the news in September 2019

After decades of being declared missing, William Earl Moldt’s skeletal remains were finally found by a person who zoomed in on Google satellite images of his former Florida neighborhood and noticed a car submerged in a lake.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said that Moldt’s went missing at the age of 40 in 1997.

Photo Credit: CBS Evening News

Teri Barbera, the Sheriff’s office spokeswoman, shared that a former resident of the Grand Isles neighborhood located in Wellington, Florida, was viewing the area on Google Earth. He zoomed in on a lake and saw a figure that resembled a car. The previous resident then got in touch with a current homeowner who confirmed it was a white car submerged in the bond behind his house after using a drone.

The sheriff’s office was called and deputies later went to the 3700 block of Moon Bay Circle at around 6:30 PM to find a white sedan with its exterior “heavily calcified.” The car was retrieved and skeletal remains were found inside. These were handed over to the Medical Examiner’s Office to be processed.

Photo Credit: CBS Evening News

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), Moldt went to a nightclub in November 7, 1997. At the bar, Moldt had several drinks, even though he did not drink frequently. However, he did not appear intoxicated and he left alone before midnight, at around 11 PM. Before leaving the club, he called his girlfriend to say that he would be at their Lantana home soon. This was the last time she had contact with him.

Photo Credit: CBS Evening News

While the subdivision was still under construction when Moldt went missing, the pond was already there. Barry Fay, a homeowner who lived near where the car was retrieved, informed The Palm Beach Post that nothing catched his attention from the shoreline.