Skeletal remains of man missing since 1997 found in Florida pond in vehicle visible on Google Earth

Remains that were found in a Florida pond have been identified as William Moldt who went missing more than 20 years ago.

The skeletal remains on the 40-year-old were found in a submerged vehicle last month in a pond in Wellington near Palm Beach.

How they came to be discovered occurred in a most bizarre manner after the manager of The Grand Isles housing development spotted the sunken car on Google Earth and alerted the police.

After missing for years, the body of William Moldt was finally recovered

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office say Moldt was reported missing in November 1997 but that the case had gone cold.

Moldt's body was found still inside his car, which had been submerged in the pond near the housing project.

At the time of Moldt's disappearance, The Grand Isles housing estate was still under construction.

His body was found in a submerged car which was only discovered after a manager of the property saw something strange on Google Earth and decided to alert authorities

Moldt's body was found in car which had been submerged in a lake in 1997 and was essentially hidden in plain sight

Deputies responding to the scene noted that the vehicle was heavily calcified which indicated that it had been in the water for some considerable time.

Police dragged the car from the pond only to discover the skeletal remains inside.

The vehicle and the remains were turned over to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office for processing.

Deputies responding to the scene noted that the vehicle was heavily calcified which indicated that it had been in the water for some considerable time

The car was pulled out of the lake earlier this week much to the surprise of locals

'Amazingly, the vehicle had been plainly visible on a Google Earth satellite image of the area since 2007, but apparently no one had noticed it until 2019, when a property surveyor saw the car while looking at Google Earth,' Moldt's cold case listing in the Charley Project says.

The Charley Project is a database that compiles information on cold cases across the United States.

Moldt left a night club on the evening of November 7, 1997 at about 11pm.

He reportedly did not appear intoxicated at the time and left alone in his vehicle according to WPTV.

Although he was not a frequent drinker, on that particular evening he had several drinks at the bar.

Moldt had called his girlfriend from the bar at around 9:30pm to say he would be home soon. It was the last contact she had with him.

No further details have yet been disclosed.

It appears that when the body was submerged in the car, the housing development had not yet even been built