Chuck Seaver, South Lake Tablet
After nearly four decades of waiting and wondering, a local family finally has answers to a missing loved one that disappeared on the evening of July 28, 1988. Ernest Joe Manzanares travelled from his home in Colorado to assist his family that was living in Ocoee at the time. Ernest arrived safe in Ocoee but soon after, a series of events would lead to more questions than answers for the family.
Ernest, 23 years of age at the time, left the family residence on Sand Dollar Key in Ocoee to confront his father and brother at an unknown location. The confrontation would stem from a plan by Ernest’s father and brother to sell Ernest’s 7-year-old sister and 8-year-old niece- his brother’s daughter, to an area motorcycle gang that the duo were active members of.
Ernest would never be heard or seen alive again. The family reported Ernest as a missing person to the Ocoee Police Department when he did not return in a few days. Per agency protocol, Ernest and his 1976 red Chevrolet Monte Carlo, were both entered in the statewide database of missing persons. The family did not immediately inform police of the plans to sell the little girls nor the planned confrontation with Ernest’s father and brother.
It was not until Ocoee Police Detective Michelle Grogan took another look at the case years later that the suspicious activity information would finally be passed onto law enforcement. The two girls remained safe with family and both the father and brother were deceased at the time of the revelation. Even with new information and contributing circumstances to the disappearance, the missing person case remained unsolved and considered cold until 21 years later when a grisly discovery was made in a Clermont recreational park.
Remains were discovered in July 2009 by a City of Clermont public works crew that were clearing undergrowth on newly acquired land intended for future park development and home to the present-day Lake Hiawatha Preserve located on north 12th Street in Clermont. 20+ human teeth and bone fragments, along with a single, fired bullet round were found in the brush.
The bones underwent forensic testing and consultations by the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida, and the Fifth District Medical Examiners office confirmed the remains were human and belonged to an adult male. Evidence was submitted for forensic and DNA analysis in 2009. Despite extensive investigative and forensic efforts, the case would become cold, with periodic reviews by investigators.
In June of 2025, the Medical Examiners Office received approval for a genetic genealogy grant through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the evidence was again submitted for additional analysis. On December 29, 2025, investigators were notified that the remains had been identified as Ernest Joe Manzanares.
Advances in DNA and forensic testing that were not available in 2009 have now finally brought the long-awaited answers to the Manzanares family. The two little girls, who are now in their 40’s, have moved on to live a safe and normal life out of the area.
Ernest’s red Monte Carlo has never been recovered but remains in the State of Florida’s active database, should the vehicle ever be found. Still missing are also the remainder of Ernest’s skeletal remains and the identity of his killer(s). One of the many unsettling questions that remains: if Ernest was out of the way of the intended sale of the girls, why were they never sold? What or who stopped that disturbing plan? Though speculation at this point can easily be attached to the father and brother of Ernest, their untimely deaths occurred prior to the additional information being received from the family, or the availability of the advanced forensics information being used in the case.
Retired Detective Michelle Grogan, who remained in contact with the family through the years, said speaking with Ernest’s daughter after decades of waiting was bittersweet, but the identification provided long-awaited answers.
Although the findings bring some closure for the family and the Ocoee Police Department’s longest-running missing person cold case, the case remains far from closed. The Clermont Police Department keeps the homicide case active and hopes for renewed public interest that may encourage family members or others with relevant information to come forward.
Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact the Clermont Police Department or the Ocoee Police Department.
Clermont Police Department,
Captain Malcolm Draper
352-536-8412 or mdraper@clermontfl.org
Ocoee Police Department
Public Information Officer Adam Shadoff
407-554-7078 or ashadoff@ocoee.org
