Skeleton found 5 years after woman accepted ride in suspicious truck, Florida cops say

A skeleton found by a fisherman has been linked to a Florida woman who vanished in 2018 after getting into a suspicious white pickup truck in Vero Beach, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.

The remains are believed to be Assunta “Susy” Tomassi, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The discovery was made March 3 in Vero Beach, about 145 miles north of Miami.

“Deputies responded to an area near the Oslo Road boat ramp after a fisherman reported finding human remains,” the sheriff’s office reports.

“Detectives located the skeletal remains deep in the mangrove tree coastline approximately 150 yards north of Oslo Road. Through personal items located near the remains detectives believe they have located Assunta “Susy” Tomassi.”

Tomassi, 73 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen around 6 p.m. on March 16, 2018, leaving the Quilted Giraffe restaurant in Vero Beach, the FBI reports. She did not have her cell phone with her, officials said.

“A video from behind a nearby Publix grocery store shows a large white full-size pickup truck pull up to Oslo Road and stop as Tomassi passes behind its tailgate walking west,” the FBI says.

“Moments later, Tomassi walks back, approaching the driver’s side of the truck, speaks with the driver, then enters the vehicle on the passenger’s side. The truck then exits the shopping center, heading east. ... The driver of the truck has not been identified.”

Tomassi was known to have symptoms of dementia, officials said.

Crime scene detectives are working with Medical Examiner’s Office investigators to process the site of the discovery, officials said.

“While we await positive identification from the Medical Examiner’s Office, the Tomassi family has requested privacy,” Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said in the news release.

“I personally met with the Tomassi family ... and we hope to bring closure to them and our community members, many of which searched alongside our agency for Susy over the past 5 years.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Skeleton found 5 years after woman accepted ride in suspicious truck, Florida cops say."