LAKELAND, Fla. — While the Polk County Sheriff's Office continues efforts to confirm the identity of the body found Wednesday in a retention pond, family members of Margaret "Jan" Smith told authorities it is her.
The sheriff's office confirmed the car is associated with the 59-year-old woman, who was reported missing on April 4, 2021. Members of the YouTube group "Adventures with Purpose" were able to locate the missing car, the agency said.
The YouTubers aid it took them two days to locate the missing woman and her car. They made the discovery after searching other ponds with no leads. At one pond in Polk County, they found two cars. They alerted deputies who alerted them to a better area to search for Smith.
"The sheriff's department came in. Them telling us about her last known whereabouts really drew us in on an area to focus on," said Doug Bishop, the lead diver for "Adventures with Purpose."
Polk County investigators worked side by side with the YouTube group when Smith's body and car were found.
"This was a tragic accident, and our prayers are with the family. We're grateful for 'Adventures with Purpose' working with us in locating the vehicle," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement.
Deputies responded to the area near Victoria Road near the intersection of Grady Mock Road and Old Polk City around 10:33 a.m. Wednesday after reports of a car was found submerged in a retention pond.
This is in a newly renovated community called Hunters Crossing.
The sheriff's office said Smith had been involved in a minor crash at Socrum Loop Road North and Old Polk City Road the night she went missing.
She had driven west from the crash scene but had eventually turned around because the Kia was discovered in a retention pond north of the crash scene, investigators said.
That information was key for members of "Adventures with Purpose" because it lead them to a new location they hadn't searched.
With the information about the crash, the group made one last attempt at one of several retention ponds around the Hunters Crossing subdivision and located it underwater near the middle of the pond where it was 7-feet deep.
“The highlight was finding Jan and returning her to her family," Bishop stated.
Smith's daughter, Marley Shupe, said she was supposed to pick her up from work on Feb. 2, but she never came.
"It upsets me because she was my mother, and I did hold out a little bit of hope that she was still alive," Shupe said.
Smith's sister, Vera Shupe, said another family member who had been watching "Adventures with Purpose" reached out to the group for help in locating her. She said she feels a sense of closure.
The family said Smith had been living with her aunt in South Lakeland and are not sure why she may have possibly been farther north. They added that Smith had been experiencing symptoms of predementia and had gotten lost driving in previous incidents.
"She was just full of life. She loved her grandkids. She loved her kids. She loved her family. It just hurts really bad," Marley Shupe said.
Neighbors in the area said the road can be deceiving with no signs warning of nearby water. Signs making the distinction were put up Thursday evening.
The YouTube group is now heading to Naples to work on two other cold cases. The group works nationwide concentrating on cold cases where a person and car are missing.
If you have a tip or would like to contact the group "Adventures with Purpose" you can contact them on their website.