After more than a decade of uncertainty, the family of a missing South Florida man is finding closure following a heartbreaking discovery.
The skeletal remains of 25-year-old Steven MacKrell, who was last seen alive in 2015, were found inside his car submerged in a lake in Boca Raton.
“It’s part shock, part relief,” said Don MacKrell, Steven’s father. “I told everybody I would rather have that day come than not coming at all, ever. Because 10 years was a long time.”
For a decade, the MacKrell family has desperately searched for answers about what happened to their son after he vanished from Pompano Beach in July 2015.
Last known moments captured on surveillance video
Surveillance footage from a Pompano Beach Valero gas station captured the last moments Steven MacKrell was seen alive on July 30, 2015. He had left downtown Fort Lauderdale earlier that evening and stopped at the gas station on North Dixie Highway.
The video shows MacKrell driving away, followed closely by a silver car. His mother, Astrid MacKrell, said she believes that detail is significant.
“I strongly believe—I might be wrong, you know, but I strongly believe,” she said. “Because you don’t follow somebody the way they followed Steven on the video for no reason.”
Discovery in Boca Raton brings relief and pain
On October 2, searchers with Sunshine State Sonar located MacKrell’s vehicle in a pond off Peninsula Corporate Circle in Boca Raton. Skeletal remains were found inside the car, later confirmed to be those of MacKrell.
“Relieved in a way,” said Astrid MacKrell. “Painful to find him the way they found him. I wasn’t really expecting him to be found in the water. I didn’t want to accept it.”
MacKrell, who lived in Fort Lauderdale, left behind a 1-year-old daughter at the time of his disappearance. His family says while the discovery is devastating, it brings them some peace.
“I guess that we will finally going to bring him home,” Astrid said.
Police seek information as investigation continues
“It’s about as much closure as we could hope for,” Don MacKrell said. “We may not know the specific details of what happened, but at least we know enough that he was located and we can kind of close the chapter.”
Investigators say it remains unclear how MacKrell’s car ended up in the lake. Fort Lauderdale police, who have led the investigation, are asking anyone who had contact with MacKrell the night he disappeared to come forward.
