MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A South Florida cold case has stumped investigators for more than 40 years.
A man mysteriously disappeared as he set sail for a new life.
His daughter explained to Local 10 News how she is holding onto hope 41 years later.
The story writes like a Hollywood movie.
Eugene “Gene” Pavey was a kingpin for a Colombian cartel, according to his only daughter Dallyn Pavey.
Gene Pavey led a colorful life. He was a traveler and a creative man who eventually made his way to Miami, an Oceanside paradise intertwined with drugs, money and partying.
“It was (the) 80′s -- it was like Miami Vice at the time,” Dallyn Pavey said.
Gene Pavey’s daughter says her savvy father chased money and lived in luxury.
“He started selling cocaine,” she said. “I always said his houses got bigger and his cars got smaller, and he just turned into a very wealthy guy.”
Gene Pavey, then 50, found love in Melanie Mass Pavey, then 19, and they would marry in a lavish wedding.
Six weeks later, Gene Pavey and his new bride planned to move to the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas.
They set sail on July 1, 1982, from Crandon Marina, but were never to be seen again.
“They never made it to Abaco and they were missing, and they just disappeared into thin air,” said Dallyn Pavey.
For decades, theories ran through her mind.
“Pirates could’ve got them in the Bermuda Triangle,” she said. “It is possible a wave came and took them under.”
She hoped the two simply started over in secrecy somewhere far away.
“Maybe they just went to South America and changed their identities,” Dallyn Pavey said.
The case bitter cold, Dallyn Pavey moved on with her life, but she wondered about her mysterious father who seemingly vanished.
Last year, she contacted the Miami-Dade Police Department, who located her father’s case.
Cold case detectives released a new flyer this week, hoping someone out there might remember the couple.
“It would be great if they were alive somewhere, but I realize that is probably not true, but I would love to have some closure,” Dallyn Pavey said.
Gene Pavey would be 91 years old today and his wife would be in her 60s.
Gene Pavey’s daughter says she just wants to know what really happened to her father, even if it is just from an anonymous tip.