HOLMES BEACH – Her favorite holiday, Halloween, has just passed, and Election Day, Nov. 4, marks two years since anyone has reported seeing Haley’s Motel co-owner Sabine Musil-Buehler.
Her disappearance remains a mystery to law enforcement officials. In the interest of jogging memories and consciences that may hold clues, the Anna Maria Island Sun presents this abridged version of her story from previous editions.
Second Place
News Story
Gwen Stevenson Memorial Award
2010
October, 2004
“We know how much the Islanders and guests loved all the things Tom (Buehler) and I here at Haley’s Motel did in the past, and we hate not being able to provide that for you anymore. We will try to keep Haley’s Motel going as a small business as long as possible.” – Sabine Musil-Buehler, canceling the motel’s annual Halloween attraction, “Haley’s Haunted Garden,” due to the high cost of property taxes on the business at 8104 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach.
Week of Nov. 10, 2005
“If you don’t do anything, Haley’s Motel is done by the end of next year.” – Musil-Buehler to the Manatee County Commission, citing a 27 percent property tax increase in 2003, a 63 percent increase in 2004 and a 55 percent increase in 2005.
Jan. 4, 2006
William Cumber, who later meets and lives with Musil-Buehler, pleads guilty to felony arson of the Manatee County home of a woman he said had scorned him. He is sentenced to 42 months in prison.
Oct. 9, 2006
“We are drowning, we are at the end.” – Musil-Buehler, asking Manatee County officials for a property tax deferral.
September, 2008
Musil-Buehler and Buehler elect her as Haley’s corporate president and secretary and elect him as vice president and treasurer.
Sept. 13, 2008
Cumber is released early from the Florida Dept. of Corrections on probation. He moves in with Musil-Buehler, now estranged from her husband.
Nov. 4, 2008
Musil-Buehler, 49, is last seen by Cumber, 39, at their home at 208-B Magnolia Ave. in Anna Maria.
Cumber later tells The Sun that they argued over his cigarette smoking and she drank a bottle of wine, then left in her car.
“She normally doesn’t drive after one freaking glass. I kind of feel responsible because if I wouldn’t have been smoking…” – William Cumber.
Cumber tells The Sun that he thought she was headed for Buehler’s home. He says he wishes he could relive the night of her disappearance.
“I wouldn’t have stepped outside and smoked a cigarette. I know that sounds unbelievable, but that’s what happened. If I could change it, I would, but I can’t. I have no control over what anybody else does. I can only control what I do. That’s the bottom line. I ain’t got nothing to do with whatever happened.” – William Cumber.
Nov. 6, 2008
Musil-Buehler’s Pontiac Sunfire convertible, driven by Robert Corona, 38, is pulled over near 12th Street West in Bradenton. He is arrested for grand theft auto and tells investigators that she had been partying in the car with him. He later recants, telling authorities that he took the parked car from the Gator Lounge on 14th Street West in Bradenton after seeing that the window was open and the keys were inside.
Buehler reports Musil-Buehler missing.
Nov. 10, 2008
Manatee County Sheriff’s Office detectives report that blood is found in Musil-Buehler’s car.
Nov. 13, 2008
Island business owner Nancy House and her friend, Janean Martin, see a woman who looks like Musil-Buehler at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, and hear her speaking German, as Musil-Buehler did. They do not report it until Nov. 18, after they return from a cruise because “There was not time,” House says.
Nov. 16, 2008
Sage Hall of Star Fruit Productions videotapes a wedding at Roser Church and a reception at the Sandbar Restaurant in Anna Maria that Musil-Buehler helped plan. At the reception, around 7 p.m., Hall and Buehler smell fire.
Fire trucks are dispatched at 7:19 p.m. to a blaze that destroys the Haley’s Motel duplex, and the motel’s legal documents.
Between 7:30 and 7:40 p.m., Cumber is seen by a restaurant worker at the Anna Maria City Pier, a few blocks from the fire.
Law enforcement officers interview Cumber at the home he shares with Musil-Buehler, but do not arrest him.
Nov. 17, 2008
A joint investigation begins among the Holmes Beach Police Department, the West Manatee Fire Rescue District and State Fire Marshal’s Office. Arson dog “Lucky” investigates the Haley’s fire scene with no results.
Attempts by The Sun to reach Musil-Buehler on her cell phone are chilling – her outgoing message, in her voice, instructs callers that she will return their calls within 15 minutes.
Nov. 18, 2008
Nancy House reports having seen Musil-Buehler at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on Nov. 13.
“As much as everyone wants to speculate that she just left town, I don’t believe anyone saw her at the airport. If she knew her, why did she not say to security, ‘That’s Sabine?’ ” – Musil-Buehler’s friend Debbie Hall.
Week of Nov. 18, 2008
Hall receives a call from a psychic who says Musil-Buehler is in a building with a linoleum floor near 14th Street West in Bradenton, near where her car was found. Hall searches for the building, finds one that fits the description and calls police. Nothing is found.
“My original gut feeling is that something terrible has happened to her. I don’t think she’s still with us.” – Debbie Hall.
“She was not at the airport, that’s crazy.” – Tom Buehler.
Nov. 20, 2008
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office reports no sign of Musil-Buehler on airport video security tape.
Nov. 26, 2008
The sheriff’s office confirms that laboratory blood test results from Musil-Buehler’s stolen car are completed, but does not disclose results pending an arrest.
Week of Dec. 6, 2008
Cumber tells The Sun that he misses Musil-Buehler and has no idea where she is. He accuses Buehler of trying to “set him up” by bringing up his previous arson conviction. He denies reports that he was angry over Musil-Buehler refusing to give him money.
“I’m going through a crisis right now. I’m pretty much homeless. I’m job hunting. It’s not like I’m out there, robbing or something, I’m just doing the best I can.
It’s just hard. I ain’t out here doing drugs. It blows me away. There ain’t a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t think about it. It’s not fair. It’s not fair that she’s gone. Where is she?” – William Cumber.
Dec. 10, 2008
Police comb the neighborhood around Haley’s, asking neighbors in vain if they can identify a man in a photograph taken the night of the fire. The white male, crouched near a vehicle smoking a cigarette, wears a baseball cap and a hoodie sweatshirt.
Dec. 13, 2008
Fire and police investigators search again through the wreckage of Haley’s duplex, with no results.
Dec. 19, 2008
As fire investigators continue to search the rubble, Buehler tells The Sun that he plans to build a new, three-story building on the site for weddings, family reunions and parties by June 1.
“We’re moving back in a positive direction. It’s a good feeling. It will be nice to get the mess out of the way. I wish we could put some closure on Sabine. That’s the main thing.” – Tom Buehler.
Dec. 22, 2008
Cumber is arrested in Marion County for driving with a suspended license. He is charged with leaving Manatee County without his probation officer’s consent and failing to remain at liberty without violating the law.
Dec. 23, 2008
Two cadaver-sniffing dogs search the beach in Anna Maria without results. A woman tells The Sun that she saw Musil-Buehler’s car illegally parked overnight near the site around the time of her disappearance.
Week of Jan. 19, 2009
Cumber denies violating his probation and demands a hearing.
May 4, 2009
Six months after Musil-Buehler disappears, “It’s more of nothing.” – Tom Buehler.
“Because nothing has happened, that’s what makes me still have hope. It’s a horrible tragedy. But we still don’t know that it is a tragedy.” – Nancy House.
May 10, 2009
Cumber admits in court that he violated his probation.
“I was running because I had no future. Bradenton was dead to me. I made better choices in my time. That wasn’t one of them.” – William Cumber.
Assistant State Attorney Tony Casoria tells the court that Cumber has 10 prior criminal convictions, four of them felonies, including battery.
Cumber’s attorney, Thomas Ostrander, says the prosecutor is treating Cumber as though he were charged with Musil-Buehler’s disappearance and the Haley’s fire.
“The court is not finding you were absconding, but that’s what the evidence tends to show.” – Manatee Circuit Judge Gilbert Smith, who sentences Cumber to 13.5 years, less 3.5 years he spent in prison for the 2006 arson.
“I’m ecstatic. But I’m still a little frustrated. I’m glad he’s in jail. I just hope one day we find out what happened.” – Debbie Hall.
Aug. 10, 2009
Corona pleads no contest to stealing Musil-Buehler’s car, telling the court that he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Sept. 3, 2009
Buehler seeks to have Musil-Buehler declared legally dead, which would allow him to collect on a $300,000 life insurance policy and settle his ownership of Haley’s Motel without waiting the five years required in a missing persons case.
Oct. 31, 2009
Buehler holds a private memorial service at the Holmes Beach Butterfly Park on Halloween, one of Musil-Buehler’s favorite holidays.
Nov. 4, 2009
A year after Musil-Buehler’s disappearance, Cumber is in jail for a probation violation and Corona is in jail for grand theft of her car, neither charged with any personal crime against her.
“There’s nothing more frustrating for an investigator than to have a case hanging. We need to find the body.” – Dave Bristow, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
Hall organizes a candlelight vigil marking the anniversary on the beach behind the Sandbar restaurant at sunset.
Dec. 1, 2009
BankUnited FSB files a foreclosure suit against Musil-Buehler, Buehler and others, claiming they owe $588,102 on their home at 512 72nd St. in Holmes Beach.
Investigators use radar to search an Anna Maria beach with no results.
Week of Feb. 10, 2010
Buehler requests relief from foreclosure, claiming the bank refused to work with him on a loan modification he requested due to the hardship caused by Musil-Buehler’s disappearance and the Haley’s duplex fire.
Feb. 17, 2010
Manatee Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas issues a declaratory judgment that Buehler is a corporate officer of Haley’s and has legal authority to act on behalf of the corporation, enabling him to collect property insurance proceeds and continue with plans to rebuild the burned-out Haley’s duplex.
Oct. 12, 2010
The Florida Second District Court of Appeal affirms Cumber’s 2009 conviction for violating his probation. His sentence ends in 2019.
Oct. 27, 2010
“We still think of her. Every time you hear about a body being found you wonder if it’s her.” – Debbie Hall, who is planning a memorial on the beach at the Sandbar restaurant at sunset with Musil-Buehler’s friends.
“She’s still in our thoughts. I keep hoping just one little piece of information will tie something together so that they can figure out what happened.” – Sage Hall, who plans to produce a tribute video of Musil-Buehler.
“She’s always in my thoughts, especially when I drive by the Gator bar. She was never there.” – Nancy House.
Nov. 1, 2010
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is still actively investigating the case, but will not release details, according to spokesman Dave Bristow, adding that Cumber remains the primary suspect. He requests that tips be called in to 747-3011 or CrimeStoppers at 866-634-TIPS (8477).
Rewards remain offered by the Sabine Buehler Benefit Fund at Whitney Bank, 5324 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach and the Manatee County Gold Star Club.
Nov. 4, 2010
Musil-Buehler’s telephone number has been disconnected.
Two years after her disappearance, she remains missing.
