Miami-Dade Police went underwater Tuesday after they got a tip from a volunteer diver about multiple cars that were submerged in a Doral lake that could potentially be linked to unsolved crimes.
Aerial footage captured by Chopper 6 shows the extensive recovery efforts. Divers suited up and went down below into the murky waters of the lake located along NW 13th Terrace in Doral.
What they discovered was an underwater landscape of cars submerged below, but how the cars got there and how long they have been in this lake is still a mystery.
Many of the vehicles were old models, gutted and covered in algae.
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“The first vehicle was an Acura Legend that was removed. It was stolen around 2002," said Doral Police Department Chief Edwin Lopez. "The second vehicle was a 1980s vehicle that was stolen in the late 90s."
Another car recovered Tuesday was a 2002 Nissan Altima that was confirmed as a stolen vehicle.
"These are most likely the types of vehicles we're gonna find here dumped in this lake," MDPD spokesperson Alvaro Zabaleta said. "Vehicles that have perhaps been abandoned and they wanted to get rid of them, they got rid of them here, or those that took them for a joy ride, they were stolen, and then were dumped inside the lake."
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Cranes were used to maneuver the cars out of the water. The Miami-Dade Police Divers Unit works to remove the cars and start forensics on dry land, they said there are red markers placed in the lake for about eight cars, but it is unclear how many remain in the lake.
“They think it’s about 20. It’s hard to say how many until they comb the whole surface," Zabaleta said. "No matter how small that information may seem, when the community calls police or Crime Stoppers, it could help them solve cases."
Homicide detectives were present throughout the day in case they were to find something linked to a cold case death investigation, but nothing has been connected yet.
“The first two vehicles that were pulled up have been submerged for over 20 years and both were reported as stolen vehicles," Doral Mayor Christi Fraga said. "It seems that this area was a hot spot when none of this was developed where cars were driven into the lakes. As each vehicle is pulled out of the water, a thorough investigation will be done and they will run the VIN numbers to make sure that it’s tied back to cases that may have been open for many years.”
The investigation as to where the cars came from and who put them in the lake in the first place continues.
