The Cape Coral Police Department announced on Wednesday that human remains discovered by kayakers in 2022 have been identified as Rose Marie Gayhart, a woman who disappeared in 1985. Following the identification, authorities have reclassified the case as an active homicide investigation.
Gayhart was 23 years old when she was reported missing by her parents in July 1985. A native of Danville, New York, she had been living and working in the Cape Coral and North Fort Myers area at the time of her disappearance. Local reports indicate she was last seen at a restaurant where she was employed, then known as Big Howie’s Hot Dogs.
The identification process concluded in May 2024 after a multi-agency effort involving the Cape Coral Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit, the District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office in New York. Forensic experts confirmed the identity by matching DNA from the remains with samples provided by Gayhart's family members.
Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore stated that the department is now pursuing leads to identify a suspect. Gayhart’s sister, Laurie Travis, had previously told local media that neighbors reported hearing disturbances at the trailer park where Gayhart lived with a boyfriend and his mother shortly before she vanished. No arrests have been made in connection with the death.
For the community of Cape Coral and North Fort Myers, the investigation may reopen decades-old inquiries into local safety and unsolved crimes from the mid-1980s. The identification of remains in public waterways like canals often prompts renewed scrutiny of historical missing persons reports in the region. As the case moves forward, the practical impact involves the allocation of police resources to a "cold" homicide, which requires locating witnesses and evidence that may no longer be easily accessible.
The outcome of this investigation sets a precedent for how municipal police departments use inter-state cooperation—in this case, between Florida and New York—to close cold cases. Future steps include the examination of original witness statements and the pursuit of any surviving persons of interest. Authorities are currently requesting that anyone with information regarding Gayhart’s activities or associates in 1985 contact the Cape Coral Police Department.