Where was Autumn McClure last seen? Human remains found in Florida believed to be Ormand Beach teen who disappeared nearly 20 years ago

16-year-old Autumn McClure of Ormond Beach, a Mainland High School student, was last seen on May 10, 2004, when her boyfriend dropped her off at the Volusia Mall. A press release by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office stated that following Autumn's disappearance, authorities continued to investigate the case for almost 20 years.

They collected DNA from family members and re-interviewed friends and potential witnesses. In 2021, authorities identified a person of interest in the case who passed away in May 2022. However, the investigation continued.

According to the press release by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation led them to a suspected burial site in the Ormond Beach area, where human remains were found during the excavation of the site on February 28, 2024. Authorities believe that the human remains belong to Autumn McClure.

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The disappearance of Autumn McClure

WESH reported that in May 2004, McClure was reported missing by her grandmother, and authorities first reached out to her boyfriend, who informed that he last saw the 16-year-old when he dropped her off at the Volusia Mall.

A couple of days following her disappearance, Autumn's grandmother told authorities that she had received a phone call from the missing teen and a letter that was postmarked in Melbourne, Florida.

According to the same source, authorities then learned that Autumn was residing in a trailer in Ormond Beach with Brian Donley and Jessica Freeman, who were reportedly her co-workers in a Winn-Dixie.

Both of them were interviewed by the authorities, and they stated that they offered the missing 16-year-old a place to stay for a couple of days as she did not get along with her grandmother. They also claimed that they were not aware of her whereabouts.

The authorities continued their investigation, gathered DNA from family members from 2005 through 2016, and listed the case in the National Center for Missing Exploited Children.

Later, in 2016, authorities reinterviewed Autumn McClure's boyfriend, who then confessed to initially lying about dropping the victim off at the Volusia Mall. He said that he had originally dropped her off at the Seabreeze Bridge, where she reportedly got into a car with Jessica Freeman.

According to WESH, in 2018, authorities found Freeman, who had since shifted to Nevada. However, she remained adamant about not knowing any information. In 2021, authorities got a phone call from an individual related to Brian and Jessica with a confession to Volusia County Sheriff’s detectives, which said:

"There is a teenage girl who is missing and is dead, is buried on Volusia County and Brian Donley and Jessica Freeman had to have something to do with this."

Following the phone call, Jessica admitted to authorities that she witnessed Brian killing Autumn and also revealed how he disposed of her body.

In 2022, Brian Donley, a suspect in the case, passed away. Jessica confessed the actual incident she witnessed to the authorities in exchange for immunity. She informed that Autumn and Brian were in a relationship during that period.

She further stated that one day, after returning home from work, she witnessed Brian strangling Autumn McClure in the bathroom. However, by the time she attempted to react, the teenager was already deceased.

As per WESH, Donley threatened Freeman that he would do the same thing to her if she reported the incident to the authorities. Autumn's body was buried under the home trailer.

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Volusia County Sheriff says "not the result anyone hoped for" in the case

NBC News reported that the probable discovery of Autumn McClure's body was not the conclusion that officials with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office had expected. On Twitter, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood stated:

"Not the result anyone hoped for in 2004 or ever since, but I am very proud of the work that went into this discovery 20 years later. At the very least we can say we never gave up on Autumn McClure's case. Prayers and condolences to the family tonight."

As per NBC News, in a news conference on February 29, 2024, Sheriff Chitwood stated that investigators were able to retrieve most of the human remains, which are believed to belong to Autumn McClure. The medical examiner's office will be confirming that soon. Talking about the person of interest identified in the case, Sheriff Chitwood said:

"The sad part is he'll never face [justice] in this world for the evil that he perpetrated," Chitwood said. "But sure enough, I'm hoping that God, when he took his last breath, on May 26 of 2022, that maybe he had a vision of where ... he was headed."

The press release by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office stated that Sheriff Mike Chitwood will provide more information about the case in a media briefing scheduled for March 7, 2024.