Decades-Old Mystery Solved: Remains of Missing Westchester Couple Found in Georgia Pond
After 44 years, the disappearance of Charles and Catherine Romer has been solved. The Westchester County couple vanished in April 1980, sparking one of Georgia’s most extensive missing person investigations. Their remains, along with their 1979 Lincoln Continental, were discovered in a retention pond near their last known location, a Holiday Inn in Brunswick.
The Romers were returning to New York from a Miami vacation when they went missing. Investigators now believe the couple may have accidentally reversed into the pond—a tragic accident that baffled police for decades.
“I was talking about it just yesterday—it’s always been such a mystery,” said their granddaughter Christine Seaman Heller. “Now, maybe it wasn’t a horrible ending. Maybe it was just an accident.”
The discovery came after divers found the car last week, and further searches uncovered human remains inside. The Glynn County Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Sunshine State Sonar worked tirelessly to bring closure to the Romer family.
“We are deeply saddened but relieved this 44-year mystery is finally solved,” the family said, expressing gratitude to those who helped uncover the truth.
The pond’s proximity to the Holiday Inn—practically under investigators’ noses—underscores the tragic irony of the decades-long search. What once seemed like a potential crime has now been revealed as a heartbreaking accident, finally bringing peace to the Romer family after more than four decades.
