A piece of 1985 puzzle solved with skeletal remains in Crescent Beach identified
Thirty-nine years later, remains discovered on Crescent Beach have been identified.
Wednesday, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office announced the victim was Mary Alice Pultz, last seen by her family in 1968 when she was 25. She had left home with boyfriend John Thomas Fugitt never to be heard from again. Detectives learned that Fugitt died in prison while on death row in a Georgia prison for a separate murder in 1981.
Pultz was born in Maryland and has two living relatives: a son in Arizona and a sister in Virginia. It's unclear what connection she had to Florida.
Evidence shows that Pultz was alive after 1968, according to the Sheriff's Office. Her remains showed three surgical burr holes in her skull, which are used to help relieve pressure on the brain during a brain bleed or build-up of fluid. Her family said this would have occurred after 1968, because they didn't know about it.
Several other injuries that were likely to require hospitalization were found on Pultz's remains, which her family also did not know about. Detectives believe she was involved in some type of event like a vehicle crash that caused traumatic injuries. The Sheriff's Office said these facts were provided for historical purposes and aren't related to the cause of death.
But Pultz's death was a homicide, officials said. They are actively investigating, despite how much time has passed.
Her remains were found on April 10, 1985, by a group of construction workers in a shallow grave on the beach. Investigators were able to determine that the woman's age was 30 to 50 when she died.
The case then grew cold. In 2011, Pultz's skull was sent to the University of South Florida for facial reconstruction. The image generated some leads, but they didn't amount to an identity.
In 2023, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement forensics laboratory in Jacksonville decided to send the remains to Othram, a private lab in Texas.
An investigation was launched based on Othram's DNA findings. Investigators were able to meet with potential relatives and take DNA samples to compare. In January 2024, Pultz was identified.
“This investigation is a powerful example that we will never give up," Sheriff Rob Hardwick said. "The combination of highly skilled detectives and advanced DNA technology has given Mary Alice’s family some answers about her disappearance close to 40 years ago. Our Major Crimes detectives are some of the best in the business and I am proud of their dedication to be a voice for homicide victims and their families as we seek closure for loved ones."
This story was reported by Times-Union news partner First Coast News.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Nearly 40 years later, skeletal remains identified from Crescent Beach
