LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the dental records of Lauren Dumolo, a Cape Coral mother who has been missing since June 2020, to compare them to human remains found off Pine Island Road on Tuesday, Oct. 5.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno held a news conference on Wednesday afternoon with the Cape Coral Police Department, asking that any dentist who may have Dumolo’s dental records come forward.
The human remains found off Pine Island Road in a vacant, wooded lot shared similarities with Lauren Dumolo who disappeared when she was 29, Sheriff Marceno said. The remains that were found belong to a white female, possibly between the ages of 30 and 35, small stature. The remains belong to a person who has been deceased for less than five years but longer than six months.
“We believe that there is a good possibility that the skeletal remains are that of Lauren’s,” Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore said.
Investigators stressed that they cannot say with 100 percent certainty that the remains belong to Dumolo.
Sizemore said this is the biggest lead they have had in Dumolo’s missing persons case. He explained that Dumolo had a tooth extraction 10 years ago in Staten Island, so investigators have been looking into dental offices in Staten Island and Maryland, pleading anyone in those offices to come forward with information.
Detectives are also pleading with any local dental professionals who may have done work on Dumolo to come forward.
Dumolo was reported missing on June 21, 2020 by her boyfriend, Gabriel Pena, who claims to have last seen her before he went to work on June 19.
Dumolo’s purse was found at Four Freedoms Park on June 19 — the same purse that Dumolo had with her when she was seen on surveillance video for the last time while applying for jobs the day before at a gas station.
Cape Coral police released a Missing Endangered Person alert for Dumolo on June 24 at 1:25 p.m., saying she was last seen wearing a t-shirt and shorts at the 4900 block of Coronado Parkway.
CLICK HERE FOR A FULL TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN DUMOLO’S MISSING PERSONS CASE
On July 2, her shirt was found in the sand by her family at Four Freedoms Park. Dumolo frequently visited the park, which was a short walk from her apartment.
Just more than a month later, Dumolo’s case gained national attention for the first time after it was featured in Dateline’s “Missing in America” segment.
Since she went missing, Dumolo’s family and friends have organized several events to aid in the search for their loved one, including a “We Ride for Lauren” motorcycle event and a candlelight vigil.
Her family also hired a private investigator in November 2020, about six months after she went missing.
Her father, Paul, said he wanted more eyes on the case and more answers.
“I understand that there are things the police can’t tell you,” Paul said. “I get that. But there are certain things that, you know I would like answers to, that I can’t get. And I’m not sure why.”
If you know anything about Dumolo’s disappearance, please contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office or the Cape Coral Police Department.
https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2021/10/13/lcso-seeks-lauren-dumolos-dental-records-to-compare-to-human-remains-found-off-pine-island-rd/
