Current:Home > reviewsMiami police begin pulling cars submerged from a Doral lake. Here's what they found so far. -VisionFunds
Miami police begin pulling cars submerged from a Doral lake. Here's what they found so far.
View
Date:2025-04-12 15:16:18
The Miami-Dade Police Department is recovering multiple cars found submerged in a lake in Doral, Florida.
Divers working for a private company to investigate a missing person cold case said they found 32 cars while exploring a lake nestled in an industrial park west of Miami. They notified the police, which began pulling the vehicles from the lake Tuesday morning.
Here is what they found on the first day of vehicle recovery.
First car found in the lake confirmed stolen
- Miami-Dade police representative Alvaro Zabaleta told WFLA that the first car pulled from the lake was confirmed to be stolen. MDPD spokesperson Luis Sierra later confirmed with USA TOSDAY that the car is a Acura Legend, which was last made in 1995 according Cars.com.
- Police divers estimated 20 cars on Tuesday morning, according to Zabaleta. The final number is not yet confirmed due to low visibility.
- Police also pulled a Ford Econoline 3500 and a Cadillac Sedan DeVille, and anticipated extracting two more by the end of Tuesday.
- Zabaleta said that they expect all cars to be of an older make and model as they were likely dumped before the surrounding commercial area, including a Walmart Supercenter, a car dealership and several popular chain restaurants, was built.
Cars in Doral, Florida lake32 vehicles found in lake by divers working missing person cold cases
Police won't rule out possibility of new evidence in cold cases
Zabaleta said the the MDPD team investigating homicide cold cases hasn't been led to this lake before, but they would not rule it out as a possibility.
Based on the first vehicle that was pulled, he expected that they were stolen and discarded after a joy ride. But they will continue to examine the recovered cars for evidence linked to outstanding cases.
"We're not gonna discard the possibility of some type fraud that also can occur and some other type of foul play like a homicide," Zabaleta said, noting that the detectives investigating deaths were on the scene.
Volunteer divers found cars while working missing person cold case
Divers Ken Fleming and Doug Bishop with United Search Corps work on a volunteer basis to investigate missing persons cold cases, they told 7News Miami. The organization works on cases that could have started up to 40 years ago.
They were investigating a case where someone drove from Pinellas County to the Miami International Airport to pick up a relative and never returned.
They targeted this lake because it is nearby the airport with easy access, which could lend itself to foul play.
When they found 32 cars, the divers suspected it was a dumping ground for ongoing criminal activity.
“When we discover a spot like this with multiple vehicles, it pretty much indicates that a crime where they’re disposing the vehicles and hiding them from law enforcement,” Fleming told 7News.
veryGood! (62855)
Related
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Frustrated Taylor Swift fans battle ticket bots and Ticketmaster
- Some charges dismissed after man charged in Dallas Zoo caper is found incompetent to stand trial
- Police say an Amazon driver shot a dog in self-defense. The dog’s family hired an attorney.
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Cowboys Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith growing very tired of former team's struggles
- Las Vegas airports brace for mad rush of Super Bowl travelers
- The Bear Season 3: Premiere Date Clue Proves the Show Is Almost Ready to Serve
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Extreme Climate Impacts From Collapse of a Key Atlantic Ocean Current Could be Worse Than Expected, a New Study Warns
Ranking
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Save Up to 79% Off On Resort Styles & Accessories At Nordstrom Rack: Kate Spade, Good American & More
- Senate slowly forges ahead on foreign aid bill
- Millions of clothing steamers recalled for posing a burn hazard from hot water expulsion
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- Caitlin Clark, please don't break scoring record on Super Bowl Sunday. For once, just be average.
- Vanderpump Rules' Raquel Leviss Makes Unexpected Runway Appearance During NYFW
- Colman Domingo talks 'Rustin' Oscar nod and being an awards style icon: 'Isn't it crazy?'
Recommendation
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Wife and daughter of John Gotti Jr. charged with assault after fight at high school game
San Francisco 49ers Wife Kristin Juszczyk Shares Tips to Rework Your Game Day Wardrobe
'Lover, Stalker, Killer' star on Liz Golyar's cruelty: 'The level of cold-heartedness'
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
4.6-magnitude earthquake shakes Southern California
Tennessee knocks North Carolina from No. 1 seed in the men's tournament Bracketology
How One of the Nation’s Fastest Growing Counties Plans to Find Water in the Desert