Remains of Esther Westenbarger found inside submerged car 11 years after she went mysteriously missing
KOKOMO, INDIANA: Human remains that were found in a submerged car belonged to Esther Westenbarger who went missing nearly 11 years ago, a preliminary investigation has revealed. An autopsy done by a forensic pathologist at Community Howard Regional Health at the direction of Howard County Coroner Dr Steven Seele confirmed that the remains were of Westenbarger, who was last seen in November 2009.
The investigation also revealed that the vehicle that was found in a retention pond was occupied by Westenbarger. However, a confirmed report will come only after forensic dentistry and/or DNA will establish it in the near future, The Kokomo Perspective reported. It has also been said that the cause of Westenbarger’s death has not yet been determined, however, foul play is not suspected in it.
“A lot of the perspective with people is the autopsy gives us instant answers. No, sometimes it gives us answers, but it also creates questions that we’ve got to investigate to either say yay or nay on these types of things. So this makes it a lot more difficult,” Dr Seele said. This comes after on June 17, Howard County 911 Dispatch Center received a call regarding the possible discovery of a vehicle in the pond. The person who called the police told them they were fishing in the pond near the area of Webster Street and 300 North when they saw something at the bottom of the pond, believed to be a vehicle covered in algae.
Shortly after the call, the Kokomo Police Department officials along with deputies from the Howard County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the scene. The Howard County Sheriff Dive Team then recovered the vehicle from the water. The suspected vehicle was heavily covered in algae with a single occupant inside. The vehicle was a gold 2005 Cadillac CTS that has Ohio registration “MESTER”.
Westenbarger disappeared nearly 11 years ago. She was last seen in November 2009 leaving a bar on foot to get to her vehicle that was parked at the Hoosier Bar. On the night of her disappearance, she reportedly went out with some new friends to bar hop. Her family said she was new to the area since she lived most of her life in Fostoria, Ohio. Before shifting to Kokoma, she was working for Findlay Industries, an automobile parts manufacturer, for about two decades.
However, when the company let go of a lot of its employees, Westenbarger was also one of them, as said by Julie Wise, the Indiana State Director of the CUE Center for Missing Persons who has worked the case since around 2014. She received a buyout from her employer and moved to Kokomo to live near her mother and siblings. Westenbarger moved into a trailer on the north side of Kokomo.
According to reports, before Westenbarger went missing, she was planning a surprise birthday party for her mother who was turning 73 on November 14 that year. However, when her family could not reach her ahead of the party, they realized something was wrong. Her brother, William Pelfee, even held a number of missing person events over the years. The family initially believed she was killed. The people with whom Westenbarger was hanging out were also questioned over the years but to no avail. And now, since the remains have been found, Pelfee said: “The thought I had in my mind, I thought someone done something to her. I feel like I almost need to go apologize because it’s like, you know, there were a few people I thought for sure had done something to her.”