DNA confirms remains found along Cape canal are missing woman
Rose Marie Gayhart, 23, was reported missing in 1985
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Remains found along a Cape Coral canal in 2024 have been confirmed as those of a Cape Coral woman who was reported missing in the 1985.
DNA testing has now confirmed the remains are those of Rose Marie Gayhart, who was 23 when her parents reported her missing.
The Cape Coral Police Department is investigating the death as an active homicide.
"For more than forty years, Rose Marie Gayhart's family has carried the weight of not knowing what happened to her," said CCPD Police Chief Anthony Sizemore in a release issued today. "While this identification brings long-awaited answers, it also strengthens our resolve. No matter how much time passes, even after four decades, our investigations do not stop, and our pursuit of justice does not end. This is now considered an active homicide investigation, and we are committed to following every lead. We are deeply grateful to our law enforcement partners and the Medical Examiner's Office for helping us reach this point, and we ask anyone with information to come forward so we can help bring accountability and closure to this case and to the family."
CCPD officials said the process to identify remains can be a long one.
"The identification of human remains is a complex process that can take time and involve multiple steps, especially in a case dating back to 1985," CCPD Public Affairs Officers stated in an email.
Gayhart had been reported missing by her parents, who lived in Dansville, New York. She was last known to be living and working in the Cape Coral/North Fort Myers area at that time.
The discovery of a skull along the bank of a canal off Kismet Parkway two years ago provided DNA for comparison.
"In May of 2024, human remains were discovered by kayakers in a canal in northeast Cape Coral,” the CCPD release states. "In May of 2026, the Cape Coral Police Department Violent Crimes Unit received confirmation that the remains belonged to Gayhart. The identification was confirmed with the assistance of the District 21 Medical Examiner's Office."
With identification confirmed, investigators also conducted another search of the site before releasing the name last Friday.
"Once we received confirmation that the remains belonged to Gayhart, we did another thorough excavation of the area where the remains were originally located," officials said.
The CCPD said the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in New York played an integral role and secured the familial DNA used to confirm the identity of the remains.
The area where the remains were located was excavated with the assistance of the Cape Coral Department of Public Works, Lee County Sheriff's Office, Broward County Sheriff's Office, and the District 21 Medical Examiner's Office.