PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is investigating after a car belonging to a man reported missing nearly 18 years ago was found in a Palm Harbor pond with human remains inside.
Authorities said a vehicle registered to Robert Helphrey, 34, was found in a pond in the 200 block of Old Oak Circle. It was found with help from the Sunshine State Sonar Search Team, a volunteer search team.
Helphrey was last seen on May 22, 2006, leaving Peggy O'Neill's Irish Pub & Eatery. According to a missing person's poster from the sheriff's office, he told friends he was going home but he was never heard from again.
Ken Fleming and Michael Sullivan never stopped looking for Helphrey. Sunshine State Sonar has been searching for Helphrey since he went missing, searching more than 100 ponds in the process.
“His mom is 82 years old, and to do this for her, it means the world to us. This is why we love to do this. To help these families out,” said Sullivan.
Helphrey was driving the Mistusbushi SUV Sullivan and Fleming found Thursday at the bottom of a pond in a Palm Harbor subdivision.
Sullivan is a sonar expert with Sunshine State Sonar. Fleming is a diver with Recon Dive Recovery. Together, they volunteer to search for people missing in cars.
They searched hundreds of bodies of water, looking for Helphrey. They focused on where his cell phone last pinged.
“We don’t always get a cell phone ping. But in this one, we did. And even with the cell phone ping, it took us a year and a half to find this guy,” said Fleming.
Helphrey’s mother said the family is in pain but relieved to have some closure.
“You don’t get over losing somebody like this. A loved one, especially in a tragic accident like this. So it’s tough,” said Sullivan.
While the guys have found this missing vehicle, they say there are 20 other cases of missing persons they are helping with all over the state.
The sheriff's office said the Medical Examiner’s Office will ID the remains and determine the cause of death.
