Florida officials believe they have found the remains of a south Alabama man who went missing in 1995, according to the man’s family.

James Aaron Toole was 72-years-old in 1995 when he left his Pansey, Ala., home on May 15, 1995.

Toole told his granddaughter he wouldn’t greet at her school bus the following day because was driving to the Plant City, Fla., area to visit a sick relative, according to information on a Facebook page started by the family.

Plant City is about 30 miles northeast of Tampa.

Toole was last seen driving his mid-80s model Chevrolet Cavalier on Houston County Road 75 later that night after leaving early from his shift at a local convenience store. He was never seen nor heard from again, nor was his car ever recovered.

Until last week, when crews cleaning debris left by Hurricane Idalia in the Steinhatchee River in Dixie County, Fla., found sections of what was ultimately determined to be a Chevrolet Cavalier submerged in the river. Workers were moving a section of dock at the Jena boat ramp when they spotted the parts of the vehicle, according to the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office.

Inside the vehicle were human remains. The sheriff’s office was notified and a dive team was called to the scene to conduct a more extensive search, locating additional parts of the vehicle and more human remains. The remains were turned over to the Dixie County Medical Examiner’s Office.

But along with the remains were found two items — a credit card and a Sam’s Club membership card — both in the name of James Aaron Toole. While DNA is being conducted to confirm the remains are those of James Toole, officials notified the family last Wednesday they believe he had been found.

By Saturday, the family had released a statement, appreciative their beloved family member had been found, but noting the discovery also raises new questions.

“While we never expected closure, we have always hoped for answers,” the statement read. “This discovery has answered some of the questions we have had over the years, but it has also created new questions. We hope to understand more about what happened to Papa as more information is uncovered.”

Until last week, no information on Toole’s whereabouts had been received since 1995 other than an unconfirmed report his wallet had been found at a gas station in Bainbridge, Ga., in 2020.

Also of note, the location where the vehicle and remains were found is about 180 miles northwest of where Toole was headed when he left home in May 1995.

“We have worked hard over the last 28 years to keep his story alive and in the media,” the family said in the release. “The process was painful and exhausting, but we never lost sight of our goal. We know that our Papa loved us and is proud of the work that we have done. We are one step closer to the possibility of bringing him home.”