LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Dozens of Mt. Dora and Lake County investigators searched a 25-acre parcel of rural conservation land outside of Eustis Thursday in hopes of finding Nicole Baldwin’s body.
Baldwin disappeared in November 2023 after an argument in her home. Police have scoured multiple properties, mostly involving ponds, ever since.
They have a person of interest they so far have refused to identify and a motive they described as an odd “family dynamic.”
Thursday’s search, involving horses, a boat, ATVs, and cadaver dogs, yielded nothing, but the police chief said it allowed them to cross another lead off their list.
“There’s no amount of money that we won’t spend to solve this case,” Michael Gibson said. “We will bring it to a conclusion.”
Gibson and staff said other searches were planned: a revisit of a Volusia County pond and a new search of a Mt. Dora pond that a specially-trained otter hit on earlier this year.
“Good police work has led us there,” Gibson said, of the investigation’s status. “We’re going to keep this thing going until we bring it to a successful end.”
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2026 Cox Media Group






