MIAMI/CLEARWATER, FLA. (WSVN) — Detectives from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit have successfully closed the 42-year-old missing person’s case of Ronald Gilchrist, shedding light on a long-standing mystery. Gilchrist, who was reported missing at the age of 29, had vanished while traveling from Clearwater to Miami in 1980.
According to investigators, Gilchrist left a residence on Bonner Avenue in Clearwater on October 28, 1980. He was driving a 1977 Ford 4-door vehicle headed to Miami International Airport on November 3, 1980, to pick up his in-laws and take them to Marco Island. However, Gilchrist never reached his destination and ceased all contact with family and friends.
Detectives’ efforts recently led them to a crucial breakthrough in the case. They obtained photographs of Gilchrist from 1980 and shared them with MDPD investigators and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office.
It was discovered that Miami-Dade Police had conducted a homicide investigation involving an unidentified John Doe in November 1980. The physical description of John Doe matched that of Gilchrist.
On June 7, 2023, detectives received official confirmation from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office, formally identifying the John Doe as Ronald Gilchrist, thus closing the missing person’s case.
The Miami-Dade Police Department has now taken over the investigation into Gilchrist’s homicide.
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