‘We do want closure’: Family of twins who vanished 40 years ago hope car in Pinellas canal brings answers
OLDSMAR, Fla. - The family of twin teenage girls who disappeared more than 40 years ago is hoping a discovery at the bottom of a Pinellas County canal brings them answers in their loved ones' case.
Patty and Peggy McDaniel were 17 years old in 1979 when they moved to Live Oak, Florida with their father, leaving behind their mother, Joyce Rivituso, and sister, Paula McDaniel Hovely, who was 13 years old at the time.
Pictured: Patty and Peggy McDaniel.
According to their family, it wasn't long before Patty and Peggy were in trouble after meeting two men in Live Oak who eventually moved with them to the Pompano Beach area.
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"The girls were actually being groomed for human trafficking there in Live Oak," said Hovely, who, along with her mother, spoke virtually with FOX 13.
Pictured: Patty and Peggy McDaniel.
In September 1979, before Rivituso could rescue Patty and Peggy, her daughters vanished. Another man they'd been connected to, according to reports, turned up dead at around the same time as their disappearance.
"It's like they just disappeared off the face of the earth," Rivituso said. "I was torn. I was hysterical a lot of times."
Pictured: 1970s-era Chevy Vega.
"The two men that the girls disappeared with," added Hovely, "they told the police that they saw the girls last leaving in a white Chevy Vega with some hippie looking dudes."
Last Friday, during a search for a vehicle connected to a different missing persons case, a team with Sunshine State Sonar discovered a car at the bottom of Lake Tarpon Canal in Pinellas County. The company searches bodies of water for missing persons and vehicles.
The car was so deteriorated, crews were only able to retrieve two tires and some pieces of it. That was enough, however, to determine that it was a 1970's-era Chevy Vega.
"We've got a lot of anxiety, but deep down, we do want closure in this case," Hovely said. "We want to know what happened to the girls, because living without knowing is the worst part. And, I think things come to light for a reason and if this car is the link for us putting this to rest, we're ready for that."
According to the owners of Sunshine State Sonar, divers with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office did not find any signs of human remains in the submerged car.
A spokesperson for the Broward County Sheriff's Office added there is no indication so far that the vehicle is connected to the case of the missing twins. Even if this car is not connected to the girls' case, their loved ones aren't going to give up searching for answers.
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"I came to the conclusion a long time ago that the children were not any longer alive. But, that did not stop me from still looking and trying to find them," Rivituso said.
A spokesperson for the Broward sheriff said anyone with information on the disappearances of Patty and Peggy is urged to contact the Broward Sheriff’s Office or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.