Body found in 1977 ID'd as that of missing Orange County woman

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Detectives now believe two killings in Orange County nearly 40 years ago could be related.

The new details come nearly a month after investigators were able to use DNA to identify the body of Nancy Grace Daniel, who went missing in 1976 after getting into a car in Parramore.

Daniel's cousin, Eugene Oliver, was the last person to see her alive.

"I really thought she had started a new life, met someone and started a new life," said Oliver.

But Daniel and another girl who has not been identified were both found dead on the shore of the same lake three months apart in 1977. By the time the bodies were discovered, only bones were left, which make identifying the victims nearly impossible.

Both sets of remains were stored at the Medical Examiner's Office but the cases weren't connected.

"Due to the severe decomposition and lack of technology back then, sets went unidentified for decades," said Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

The remains weren’t touched again until last year when two retired detectives working for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children saw unidentified remains in a national database and started digging into the files.

Detectives were able to find Daniel's family and got DNA samples. A year later in May 2014, investigators were able to identify the remains as those of Daniel.

A computerized image was then made of the other teen.

"This is the beginning," said Detective Angelo Chiota of the Orange County Sheriff's Office. "This is where we start.  We know where Nancy ended up. We got to go backwards."

"We ask you to go back with us 37 years in time," said Demings.

Detectives believe the two killings could be the work of the same person and that there is a strong possibility there could be other victims.  Anyone with information is asked to contact Orange County Sheriff's Office investigators.

WFTV