Dozens of cars were found over the weekend in a lake in Doral, Florida, near Miami International Airport.
Volunteer divers looking for clues in missing persons cases found 32 submerged vehicles in the lake on Friday and Saturday, The New York Times reported. One group of divers told the Times that it was the most cars they had ever discovered in a single lake. The search teams said the body of water might have been a place where people committing crimes disposed of the evidence.
After being informed of the findings over the weekend, the Doral Police Department told CNN that “a thorough investigation will take place” to look into the submerged vehicles.
“As of this time, it is unknown if these vehicles are linked to criminal activity nor how long the vehicles have been submerged in the lake,” Doral police said.
MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPARTMENT via Reuters
Many of the vehicles appear to be decades old. The first vehicle authorities removed from the lake on Tuesday was a stolen 2002 Nissan Altima, according to CBS News.
“We obviously don’t want these things happening in our backyard and we hope that they do not continue to happen,” Doral Mayor Christi Fraga told CBS.
“It seems as if this area was a hot spot when none of this was developed, where cars were driven into the lake,” she added.
No human remains have been found with the cars as of yet. However, Doug Bishop, the founder of United Search Corps, a nonprofit that investigates cold cases and helped search the lake, told NewsNation there is a possibility that bodies will be found in the lake eventually.
Homicide detectives “fully expect any one of those vehicles to possibly hold answers for a family and their community and one of their cases. It’s extremely likely, especially when there’s that many vehicles in one location,” Bishop said.
“Does that mean that’s going to happen? No, absolutely not. But you know, the odds are there that one of those vehicles could possibly hold answers and clues to a case that’s long been forgotten,” he said.
Bishop, Fraga, the United Search Corps, the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Doral Police Department did not immediately respond to JS’s request for comment.