Human Remains Found In FL Could Be Linked To Teen Missing 20 Years Ago

ORMOND BEACH, FL — Human remains found Wednesday near an Ormond Beach mobile home park could belong to a 16-year-old girl who was reported missing nearly 20 years ago, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

Authorities believe the remains belong to Autumn McClure, who they say disappeared on May 10, 2004 from her grandmother's home. Official identification is pending, authorities said.

At the time of McClure's disappearance, authorities said her grandmother received calls and letters stating McClure "was fine" and would return home after turning 18-years-old.

McClure had begun living with a a woman and her 31-year-old boyfriend, identified by authorities as Brian Donley, at a mobile home park.

"The couple told investigators Autumn stayed with them for only a short time, and they didn’t know where she went afterward," the sheriff's office said in a news release.

After several years of investigating McClure's disappearance, authorities say Donley's girlfriend continued to deny having relatable information during a 2018 interview.

The case took a turn in 2021 after a tipster told authorities that Donley and/or his girlfriend killed a teenage girl in Volusia County, authorities said.

While following up on the tip, detectives interviewed Donley's girlfriend once more and gave her a letter of immunity from the State Attorney's Office, authorities said.

The woman said she witnessed Donley kill McClure in the trailer and said Donley threatened to kill her if she told anyone, authorities said.

Due to a change of property owners since 2004, a new trailer was put on the lot in 2021; however, authorities say they were able to arrange this week the removal of the trailer and concrete for an excavation.

A University of Florida team assisted with the excavation, authorities said. An estimated 99 percent or more of the remains had been recovered from the site as of Thursday, authorities said.

They say McClure's family has been notified of the discovery of the remains.

Donley, who authorities identified as the suspect in McClure's killing, died at 49-years-old in 2022, authorities said. Therefore, Donley cannot be prosecuted.

“There really never is a ‘cold case.' The men and women that are assigned to our Major Case Unit and all of our investigative units, that’s what they understand,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Thursday during a press conference.

" ... I’m hoping to God that when he (Donley) took his last breath on May 26 of 2022, that maybe he had a vision of where the hell he was headed."