30 Cars found in Florida Lake - possibly from '80s cocaine wars

[lowwall]

Divers Hoping to Solve Cold Cases Find 30 Cars in Florida Lake (link should work without subscription)

"Volunteer divers looking over the weekend for underwater vehicles in South Florida in an effort to solve missing persons cases found something unexpected: roughly 30 cars submerged under a single lake, according to the police.

The cars were discovered a few miles west of Miami International Airport in Doral, in a commercial area filled with cafes, a pharmacy and a car dealership. They were likely dumped there decades ago by people hoping to rid themselves of a car because of its connection to a crime, the search teams said."

The article also mentions three volunteer search and rescue groups. Sounds like an interesting hobby:

"Besides Mr. Fleming’s group [Recon Dive Recovery], the search team included United Search Corps and Sunshine State Sonar. All three organizations help families find their missing loved ones even after the local authorities have moved on to other cases. The groups said they began searching the lake last week and that they discovered the cars on Friday and Saturday."

 

[BoltSnap]

Did you find any reference to finding human remains in these cars?

 

[deeper thoughts]

Did you find any reference to finding human remains in these cars?

Local 10 news here in Miami made no mention of that

 

[broncobowsher]

The only problem I am seeing is the cars are too new to be from the 80s. A few pictures I have seen pop up on news feeds says 90s or even early 2000s.

 

[tridacna]

The only problem I am seeing is the cars are too new to be from the 80s. A few pictures I have seen pop up on news feeds says 90s or even early 2000s.

Not all. From the article: “…some of the cars could trace back to the armed conflict between the U.S. government and the Colombian drug cartels during the 1970s and ’80s”

 

[lowwall]

Here's an update with interviews of two of the divers and a bit of underwater footage.

Diver speaks about finding submerged vehicle in Doral lake

Over 30 vehicles were found in a lake in Doral, and NBC6’s Amanda Plasencia spoke to the group that actually made the discovery before handing it off to police.

www.nbcmiami.com

No human remains have been reported.

 

[DogHouseDiver]

We found no human remains visible but left the trunks to Law Enforcement to pop. Oldest car was a 1949 Mercury 8. The Acura Legend was the newest car we found. We setup the police on the newest car first so they get a good pull. There was a Cash In Transit Armored Van (non-collapsed runflat tires). Most of the first 25 cars were 70's-80's Era, but the police haven't pulled them yet.

We found a total of 43 Cars and 1 Salvage Boat that weekend. 32 in Airport Lake (25 were marked before the Waterski Club kicked us out). 1 across the street in the L shaped pond. 7 in another pond 5 blocks away, 1 in the Miami River above the locks at a boat ramp, 1 in a large pond by our AirBnB.

My ankle is swollen to the size of a softball from frog kick finding 14 hours straight on Saturday, just getting off crutches today, after a week of ice, ace, and elevation. -Ken

ReconDiveRecovery.com

 

[FinnMom]

I would think that insurance fraud could be another reason some of those cars were there. I.e. "stolen" but never really stolen.

 

[Waterwulf]

Strange things happens to bodies in vehicles underwater for any length of time. Obviously, the first thing that happens to them, is the biological part of the process begins. They decay. Eventually, sooner if the windows are open, fish and microorganisms get in and begin to feed. All soft tissue is soon gone. At that point, it's a complete skeleton inside the vehicle. The only thing left, is bones and the tough tissue holding the joints together.

Eventually, even that tissue is gone and the skeleton falls apart into a pile of bones laying on the seat or floorboards. Of course, life goes on while that body is decaying. Life in that lake or river or ocean, etc. Dead plankton, fish, plant material, dirt, etc,. etc. etc., all falls to the bottom and accumulates there. A thing like a car can accumulate hundreds of pounds of it inside in the trunk and interior, more if the water is calm.

After enough time had passed, it would just be mud. A body would not be discernible. Law Enforcement would first run the VIN's. If it came up as a simple stolen vehicle, they might just send it to scrap. (Depends on the budget!!) However; If it came up as a serious crime or missing persons vehicle, they would flush the interior out thru screen grates to look for evidence like guns or human remains. Very often, you can smell "The Smell" just from stirring the mud with a stick.

 

[DogHouseDiver]

Regarding Decomposition underwater:

Robert Heikka was missing 2.5 years, driver window open, he was in the back seat, flesh intact, a Deputy commented "That's my 6th grade teacher, he still has the same haircut." Surprised how long the remains lasted.

Bob Helphrey was gone 17 years, we found full skeletal remains.

We recovered skeletal remains 2 Saturdays ago near Miami that we believe will be tied to a 31yr cold case. I found the skull & ribcage, stopped there and secured the scene, brought a line from the steering wheel to the surface marker buoy. All bones intact in the silt below the upside down driver's wheel.

Karen Moore was found by my partner in January in Davie, first some finger bones in the trunk, then the top half skeletal remains over the courseof 3 weeks. I found additional remains of lower vertebrae & pelvis believed to be connected to her case 2 weeks ago as well. Preservation was good in the mud. DNA is pending.

Also recently found a 2nd car buried 100%, via metal detector on another case at the request of local law enforcement detectives.

We're going back out tomorrow searching for a 13 month cold case.