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Divers on Training Exercise Find Submerged Cars Full of Human Remains » RYOT News
FOSS, Okla. (AP) For more than a generation, this rural community has been haunted by a mystery: What happened to three teens who headed off to a high school football game in the early 1970s and were never seen again?
Tim Porter, right, talks with Beckham County Sheriffs Deputy J. Kessel, left, after giving a DNA sample at the scene where two cars were found in Foss Lake, in Foss, Okla., Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Police believe they may finally have an answer after divers on a training exercise discovered a car containing skeletal remains in a murky lake. Divers also recovered a second vehicle containing bones, and investigators were searching Wednesday for other cold cases that might match the grim discovery.
The cars were found not far from a marina, but Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said it was no surprise that the murky waters held a secret.
This lake isnt crystal clear. Its a typical western Oklahoma lake with a lot of silt in it. The visibility is only 6 to 12 inches on a good day, Peoples said. Well consider it a mystery until we prove otherwise.
The sheriff said it was entirely possible that people simply drove into Foss Lake and drowned.
We know that to happen, even if you know your way around. It can happen that quick, he added.
This Sept. 17, 2013, photo shows two cars recovered from Foss Lake, Okla. The Oklahoma State Medical Examiners Office says authorities have recovered skeletal remains of multiple bodies in the Oklahoma lake where the two decades-old cars were pulled from the water by a dive team. (AP Photo/Daily Elk Citian, Laura Eastes)
The sheriff said he was confident the dive teams had found the teens because one of the cars was a Chevrolet Camaro that appeared to match the description of the vehicle the two boys and one girl were in when they vanished in 1970. The other vehicle was a Chevrolet from the early 1950s.
We thought it was just going to be stolen vehicles, and thats not what it turned out to be, obviously, Highway Patrol spokeswoman Betsy Randolph said.
The origins of the second vehicle were less clear. It was found 50 feet from the end of a boat ramp.
Tim Porter of Enid said he believed the remains could be those of his grandfather, John Albert Porter, who disappeared along with two other people in 1969.
Forty-something years of wondering who or why, Porter said. If it is my grandfather in there, its a gift.
The sheriff said Wednesday he was not sure whether the cars held five or six bodies. The state medical examiners office believed the remains of six people were recovered.
The bones were being sent to the medical examiners office for identification and to determine the cause of death.
Divers had found three skulls as of Tuesday evening. They planned to continue looking for more remains, Randolph said.
Authorities hoped the discoveries offer some relief to families who may have gone decades wondering about the fate of a missing loved one.
Were hoping these individuals, that this is going to bring some sort of closure to some families out there who have been waiting to hear about missing people, Randolph said. If thats the case, then were thrilled.
FOSS, Okla. (AP) For more than a generation, this rural community has been haunted by a mystery: What happened to three teens who headed off to a high school football game in the early 1970s and were never seen again?
Tim Porter, right, talks with Beckham County Sheriffs Deputy J. Kessel, left, after giving a DNA sample at the scene where two cars were found in Foss Lake, in Foss, Okla., Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)Police believe they may finally have an answer after divers on a training exercise discovered a car containing skeletal remains in a murky lake. Divers also recovered a second vehicle containing bones, and investigators were searching Wednesday for other cold cases that might match the grim discovery.
The cars were found not far from a marina, but Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said it was no surprise that the murky waters held a secret.
This lake isnt crystal clear. Its a typical western Oklahoma lake with a lot of silt in it. The visibility is only 6 to 12 inches on a good day, Peoples said. Well consider it a mystery until we prove otherwise.
The sheriff said it was entirely possible that people simply drove into Foss Lake and drowned.
We know that to happen, even if you know your way around. It can happen that quick, he added.
This Sept. 17, 2013, photo shows two cars recovered from Foss Lake, Okla. The Oklahoma State Medical Examiners Office says authorities have recovered skeletal remains of multiple bodies in the Oklahoma lake where the two decades-old cars were pulled from the water by a dive team. (AP Photo/Daily Elk Citian, Laura Eastes)The sheriff said he was confident the dive teams had found the teens because one of the cars was a Chevrolet Camaro that appeared to match the description of the vehicle the two boys and one girl were in when they vanished in 1970. The other vehicle was a Chevrolet from the early 1950s.
We thought it was just going to be stolen vehicles, and thats not what it turned out to be, obviously, Highway Patrol spokeswoman Betsy Randolph said.
The origins of the second vehicle were less clear. It was found 50 feet from the end of a boat ramp.
Tim Porter of Enid said he believed the remains could be those of his grandfather, John Albert Porter, who disappeared along with two other people in 1969.
Forty-something years of wondering who or why, Porter said. If it is my grandfather in there, its a gift.
The sheriff said Wednesday he was not sure whether the cars held five or six bodies. The state medical examiners office believed the remains of six people were recovered.
The bones were being sent to the medical examiners office for identification and to determine the cause of death.
Divers had found three skulls as of Tuesday evening. They planned to continue looking for more remains, Randolph said.
Authorities hoped the discoveries offer some relief to families who may have gone decades wondering about the fate of a missing loved one.
Were hoping these individuals, that this is going to bring some sort of closure to some families out there who have been waiting to hear about missing people, Randolph said. If thats the case, then were thrilled.
