FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Relatives have hired a company to assist them and police in the search for a missing 81-year-old woman from Fort Lauderdale.
Carol Tormey, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia - was reported missing the night of July 21.
Fort Lauderdale police quickly issued a Silver Alert with Tormey’s picture and the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck she was believed to driving.
Tormey’s family remains hopeful for her safe return as they intensify their search for her.
Tormey was last seen leaving her Fort Lauderdale home along the 1500 block of South Ocean Lane.
License plate readers showed that she traveled north on US 1 to Deerfield Beach before turning around and heading back south.
Her truck was last spotted near Sheridan and A1A, but relatives could still track her.
“We have AirTags with her,” her son, John Tormey, told Local 10 News. “There is one in her purse, one in her keys and one in the truck, and those were spotted going west on Miramar (Parkway).”
It’s there the Apple AirTags could no longer be traced.
Carol Tormey’s family has since hired a company to help find her.
Local 10 cameras were there Tuesday night when that group checked a body of water near Interstate 75 southbound near Miramar Parkway.
Sunshine State Sonar, the volunteer company hired by Tormey’s family, says they found a car with human remains inside, however, the remains did not belong to Tormey.
“When we first seen it, we thought it was going to be Carol. And when we dove on the vehicle, we realized it was not her car,” Mike Sullivan, of Sunshine State Sonar, said.
More than a dozen submerged vehicles were found so far during the search for Tormey.
Authorities have not yet released the identity of the body found Tuesday night, however, the body was discovered inside a blue 2011 Honda Civic, which matches the description of a vehicle from a local missing person’s case in 2018.
Tormey’s family, meanwhile, says they will stop at nothing to find her.
“If anybody out there has seen the truck just parked on the side of the road or seen her walking anywhere from Deerfield all the way down to Miramar, please, I beg you. I need to bring my mom home and it’s, it’s killing the family,” John Tormey said.
So while the family says there are no major updates yet when it comes to this case, they are keeping the faith when it comes to her safe return.
If you have any information about Carol Tormey’s whereabouts, please call police.