Overview

• Full name: Diane Elaine Rohbeck
• Nickname: Dee-Dee
• Age at disappearance: 22
• Date of birth: March 6, 1956
• Date last seen: March 9, 1978
• Last known location: Fort Lauderdale area, Florida; believed departure from Port Everglades
• City and county: Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida; Miami-Dade County was her home jurisdiction
• Intended destination: Bimini, Bahamas
• Case classification: Lost/Injured Missing
• Current status: Unresolved missing-person case
• Investigating agency: Miami-Dade Police Department, Missing Persons Squad
• Associated missing person: Kenny Castleberry, age 24
• Associated vessel: 24-foot purple-and-white Nova motorboat, registration FL6315BH
• Official police case number: PD120418147390
• NCIC number: M970679322

Detailed Case Breakdown

Diane Elaine Rohbeck: The Unsolved 1978 Boating Disappearance Between Florida and the Bahamas

On March 9, 1978, 22-year-old Diane Elaine Rohbeck disappeared after setting out on a boating trip from the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida with family friend Kenny Castleberry. The pair reportedly planned to travel to Bimini in the Bahamas for a snorkeling excursion. Neither returned, and their 24-foot boat, the Nova, vanished with them.

More than 48 years later, the circumstances of their disappearance remain unknown. Investigators have not publicly established whether the vessel suffered a mechanical failure, encountered dangerous conditions at sea, or experienced some other emergency.

The case remains a longstanding missing-person mystery involving two people, a missing boat, and an intended journey across the waters separating Florida from the Bahamas.

Case Summary

• Full name: Diane Elaine Rohbeck
• Nickname: Dee-Dee
• Age at disappearance: 22
• Date of birth: March 6, 1956
• Date last seen: March 9, 1978
• Last known location: Fort Lauderdale area, Florida; believed departure from Port Everglades
• City and county: Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida; Miami-Dade County was her home jurisdiction
• Intended destination: Bimini, Bahamas
• Case classification: Lost/Injured Missing
• Current status: Unresolved missing-person case
• Investigating agency: Miami-Dade Police Department, Missing Persons Squad
• Associated missing person: Kenny Castleberry, age 24
• Associated vessel: 24-foot purple-and-white Nova motorboat, registration FL6315BH
• Official police case number: PD120418147390
• NCIC number: M970679322

Main circumstances: Rohbeck and Castleberry departed on a recreational boating trip on March 9, 1978. Their intended destination was reportedly Bimini, but there is no verified evidence that they arrived. Both people and their boat remain unaccounted for in the publicly available case records.

Sources: Miami-Dade Police Missing-Person Bulletin and The Charley Project.

Diane Rohbeck’s Background Before Her Disappearance

Diane Elaine Rohbeck was born on March 6, 1956. She lived in Miami, Florida, and was just three days past her 22nd birthday when she disappeared.

According to the Miami-Dade Police Department’s missing-person bulletin, her last known residential location was in the 2200 block of 174th Terrace in Miami. She was described as a white woman approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 105 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Rohbeck was also known by the nickname Dee-Dee.

Publicly available records provide limited information about her childhood, education, occupation, and personal life. However, The Charley Project reports that she was employed at the time of her disappearance and that her failure to report to work helped bring attention to the fact that she was missing.

Photographs released in connection with the investigation show Rohbeck several years before she vanished. The age of these photographs is important because they do not necessarily represent her exact appearance in March 1978.

The Miami-Dade Police bulletin identifies a photograph taken around 1971, while The Charley Project describes an early-1970s photograph of Rohbeck.

Her disappearance occurred during what was supposed to be a recreational outing with someone she knew, rather than during a documented period of conflict or an announced intention to leave her life behind.

March 9, 1978: The Boating Trip to Bimini

On Thursday, March 9, 1978, Rohbeck and Kenny Castleberry, a 24-year-old family friend, left on a boating trip.

According to the official missing-person bulletin, investigators believe they launched from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale and intended to travel to the Bahamas.

The Charley Project identifies their planned destination more specifically as Bimini, where they intended to go snorkeling.

They were traveling aboard a 24-foot recreational motorboat called the Nova. Its identifying characteristics included:

• Florida registration number FL6315BH.
• A purple hull and stern.
• A white deck.
• Purple-and-white striped seating.
• A white canvas top.
• An inboard/outboard motor.
• A CB radio and orange life vests.

These details could be significant if the boat, identifiable components, or related maritime records are ever located.

The vessel’s distinctive colors and registration number provide information that could help distinguish it from other recreational boats operating in South Florida during that period.

There is no publicly verified evidence that Rohbeck and Castleberry successfully reached Bimini. Neither person was subsequently seen again, and the Nova was never recovered according to the published case summaries.

The official bulletin describes the launch location as a belief rather than a confirmed departure point. This distinction matters: although Fort Lauderdale and Port Everglades are central to the reported trip, the precise final movements of the two missing people have not been publicly established.

March 13, 1978: Their Absence Raises Alarm

Rohbeck and Castleberry reportedly departed on a Thursday and were reported missing the following Monday.

That Monday was March 13, 1978.

According to The Charley Project, both individuals had failed to report to work, prompting concern about their whereabouts.

Their simultaneous disappearance, combined with the absence of the boat, indicated that something may have happened during the planned maritime journey.

The publicly accessible case descriptions do not establish the precise time when authorities received the first missing-person report, who made the initial report, or which emergency resources were dispatched.

Those details should not be assumed without contemporaneous investigative records.

What is documented is that neither Rohbeck nor Castleberry returned from the trip, and their disappearance ultimately became a missing-person investigation handled by Miami-Dade authorities.

Investigation History and Available Evidence

The Missing Boat

One of the most important features of the case is that the vessel disappeared along with both occupants.

Investigators have a description of the Nova, including its registration number, dimensions, color scheme, and motor configuration.

However, the public case materials do not identify a confirmed wreck site, recovered debris field, or physical evidence conclusively establishing what happened to the boat.

The absence of the vessel makes reconstructing the incident especially difficult.

Without a recovered boat or verified final position, investigators cannot publicly establish whether the disappearance resulted from mechanical failure, a navigational problem, an accident, or another event.

The Gulf Stream Possibility

The Charley Project identifies a possible explanation involving a disabled boat drifting in the Gulf Stream.

This is a theory, not an established finding.

The Gulf Stream is a powerful ocean current flowing through the region between Florida and the Bahamas. A vessel that lost propulsion or navigational control could potentially have been carried away from its intended route.

Such a possibility is consistent with the general maritime environment, but it does not prove that the Nova became disabled or that its occupants were carried offshore.

No publicly verified physical evidence links the disappearance conclusively to this scenario.

Searches and Maritime Records

The publicly accessible police bulletin and missing-person profile do not provide a detailed chronology of maritime searches, aircraft deployments, Coast Guard operations, or recovery efforts following the disappearance.

They also do not identify a confirmed distress call from the vessel.

Because these details are unavailable, it would be inaccurate to claim that a particular search area was covered, that rescuers discovered specific evidence, or that a distress transmission was received.

Historical Coast Guard documentation, harbor records, boat registration files, and original police reports could potentially clarify the early investigation, if those records still exist.

Forensic Evidence and DNA

No publicly confirmed forensic breakthrough was identified in the reviewed case sources.

Specifically, the available records do not document:

• A recovered vessel conclusively identified as the Nova.
• Human remains positively identified as Rohbeck or Castleberry.
• A publicly announced DNA identification or genetic-genealogy result.
• A confirmed forensic finding establishing the cause of either disappearance.
• An officially identified homicide suspect or criminal charge connected to the case.

These are limitations of the publicly available documentation, not proof that investigators have never collected evidence or explored particular leads.

The Miami-Dade Police Department remains the principal law enforcement contact identified in the published case materials.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

Could the Boat Have Experienced Mechanical Trouble?

Mechanical failure is one possible explanation for the disappearance.

The Nova was reportedly equipped with an inboard/outboard motor. If propulsion failed while the boat was offshore, its occupants could have faced serious difficulties returning to Florida or reaching the Bahamas.

The Gulf Stream could also have complicated the situation.

However, no publicly available evidence establishes that the motor failed, the vessel ran out of fuel, or the occupants attempted repairs.

These remain possibilities rather than verified events.

Could Severe Weather or a Maritime Accident Have Been Involved?

Unexpected changes in sea conditions, navigational difficulties, and other maritime hazards are possible risks during an offshore boating trip.

But the reviewed case materials do not document a particular storm, collision, capsizing, or other maritime accident involving Rohbeck and Castleberry.

Consequently, weather-related explanations cannot be presented as confirmed causes.

Did They Ever Reach Bimini?

This is one of the most significant unanswered questions.

Although Bimini was reportedly their destination, The Charley Project states that their arrival there has never been verified.

Without documented arrival records, credible witness accounts, or recovered physical evidence, it is impossible to determine from public sources how far they traveled.

Is There Evidence of Foul Play?

The publicly available information does not establish that Rohbeck or Castleberry were victims of homicide.

No official suspect, criminal motive, or confirmed act of violence is identified in the reviewed police bulletin or missing-person profile.

The Charley Project classifies Rohbeck’s case as Lost/Injured Missing, rather than a confirmed homicide.

Foul play should therefore not be treated as an established explanation.

The central unresolved question remains what happened to the two individuals and their boat after they departed South Florida.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates (As of October 2026)

August 24, 2020: Official Missing-Person Bulletin Released

On August 24, 2020, the Miami-Dade Police Department issued public information bulletin 20-CC-009 concerning Diane Elaine Rohbeck.

The bulletin was issued by Detective S. Gowdie of the Special Victims Bureau’s Missing Persons Squad.

It documented Rohbeck’s identifying information, her disappearance with Castleberry, the suspected departure from Port Everglades, and the description of their boat.

The bulletin also included photographs of the missing individuals and a reference image of the type of vessel involved. Police specifically noted that the vessel photograph was not a picture of the actual boat.

This publication demonstrates that authorities continued publicly circulating information about the disappearance decades after it occurred. It does not, by itself, establish that investigators discovered new evidence in 2020.

September 11, 2020: Police Bulletin Updated

The official bulletin carries an update date of September 11, 2020.

The publicly available document does not explain what information was changed in that revision.

The Charley Project also records a case-profile update on September 13, 2020, involving details of the disappearance.

These dates document changes to public case information, not confirmed investigative breakthroughs.

2021–2026: No Confirmed Breakthrough Located

As of October 18, 2026, no publicly confirmed recent investigative developments were located in the sources reviewed.

There was no verified public announcement of an arrest, recovery of the Nova, identification of remains, DNA match, or resolution of the disappearance.

The Charley Project continues to publish Rohbeck’s case as Lost/Injured Missing.

Although the case remains publicly documented, that does not establish what investigative activity may be taking place outside the public record.

No verified new family appeal, recent age-progression release, or case-specific genetic-genealogy initiative was located.

The most recent specifically dated police document identified during this research remains the 2020 bulletin and its September 2020 revision.

Conclusion: A Disappearance That Still Needs Answers

Diane Elaine Rohbeck was only 22 years old when she disappeared during a boating trip from South Florida toward the Bahamas.

Kenny Castleberry, the 24-year-old family friend accompanying her, vanished as well.

Their boat, the Nova, has never been publicly reported recovered, and the available case materials do not establish what happened during their journey.

Nearly five decades later, the disappearance remains unresolved.

Even seemingly minor information could be valuable, particularly details concerning the boat’s movements, its condition before departure, possible sightings near Port Everglades or Bimini, or communications from either missing person.

Anyone with credible information is encouraged to contact the investigating authorities rather than attempting an independent investigation.

The Miami-Dade Police Department’s published missing-person bulletin directs information to its Missing Persons Squad at 305-715-3300 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Diane Rohbeck and Kenny Castleberry deserve to be remembered as individuals whose lives and futures were interrupted by a disappearance that has never been satisfactorily explained.