NATCHITOCHES - Natchitoches Sheriff's Deputies believe they have recovered the body and vehicle of a woman who has been missing for 28 years in the Cane River on Monday. 

On November 3, 1993, 40-year-old Kara E. Vaughn was reported missing. According to family members, Vaughn, a diabetic, left her home without her medication and less than $10 in cash. 

On the evening she left, she stated that she would drive her vehicle "into the Cane River and never be found." Family members were worried about her and said she was upset before she left home in her 1978 Honda Civic. 

The Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office began an investigation into Kara's dissappearance in 1993. They searched the river multiple times, including once in 2007 using sonar equipment, but she was never found.

At the beginning of 2021, fishermen reported seeing the car in the river two separate times: once in January and another time in February. Then on March 15, Calcasieu Sheriff's Divers assisted deputies in the recovery of the vehicle. 

The 1978 Honda Civic that Kara Vaughn was last seen in was discovered submerged in 10 to 15 feet of water in the Cane River. Divers were able to see the remains of a human skeleton in the driver's seat. 

An ID and photos of Kara were found inside the vehicle in surprisingly legible condition. The vehicle was strategically removed from the water with special flotation bags. 

"Unfortunately the outcome did not come out as we expected for Kara but at least the family has some closure now" said Sheriff Stuart Wright as he expressed his condolences to her family.