Car belonging to man missing for 16 years found underwater with human remains in Florida

Florida-based volunteer teams have discovered a Mitsubishi SUV belonging to Robert Helphrey, a local man who disappeared in 2006, nearly 17 years later in a Palm Harbor pond.

Following the successful efforts of sonar search and recovery volunteers to locate the vehicle, deputies towed the car out of the pond.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed that the vehicle contained human bones.

Although the Medical Examiner’s office is still working to identify the remains, the family, according to a report by Fox News, has since found closure thanks to the discovery of Helphrey's alleged 16-year missing remains.

The missing man's loved ones remember him as a father, son, and Desert Storm veteran.

He was last seen leaving Palm Harbor's Peggy O’Neill’s Bar around midnight on May 22, 2006. This is only a six-minute drive from the pond where his car was discovered.

According to authorities, he had planned to meet after leaving the bar but never arrived.

Brian St. Arnold, general manager of the restaurant where Helphrey worked and was his childhood friend, said the missing man could have taken a fatal wrong turn after working a long shift on the date he went missing. "We'll always mourn the death of Bob. He was a great guy and a loyal friend, but one of the things that does put to rest is all the conspiratorial theories of people saying, ‘Hey, we think this happened or we think that happened.'"