Search for missing woman leads to renewed interest in unsolved case

Published: Updated:

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- More than one mystery may have been solved this week through the search for a missing woman.

A man found a car that may be tied to the disappearance of a woman 25 years ago.

Scott Dunlap was searching for 25-year-old Chelsey Green near the Lee Civic Center at Bayshore Road and State Road 31. He wanted to find out whether Green, who’d been missing for several days, might have driven into the retention pond.

Turns out, Green didn’t, but another missing person may have.

Dunlap grew up in the Midwest, hunting and trapping animals. He’s developed a knack for finding anything that’s missing.

“I can find things more obviously than someone who didn’t know what they were looking for.”

Dunlap has relatives who knew Green, the woman missing since last week. He went looking for Green’s car using low-technology equipment.

“I went back home and got a fishing pole and put a magnet on it.”

He cast four times, and the magnet stuck.

“I had a buddy with me, then he dove down and felt the car. He actually felt the window of the car and the roof of the car.

Authorities removed an older model red, Datsun 280Z. That was the type of car driven by Rita Sue Zul, when she disappeared in 1990.

Zul had attended a birthday party at the Marina 31 Lounge, which has since been torn down. Zul drove off and was never seen again.

In an eerie coincidence, the car was located very close to where Green’s car and body were recovered, on the south side of the Caloosahatchee River.

Now, after a quarter century, another disappearance may be solved.

“You never know what you’re going to turn up,” said Dunlap. “I think the biggest coincidence of it is the location she was last seen, was the location where Chelsey was found, and Chelsey brought us to where this woman was located.”

WINK News tried to locate any relatives of Rita Zul, but we were unable to. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office says they will soon release details of the red car found. Trust WINK News to continue to follow the investigation.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.