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The Foss Lake Mystery
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Pietro_Mercurios
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 12:31    Post subject: The Foss Lake Mystery Reply with quote

A new thread on the discovery of six skeletons, three to a drowned Chevvie, in Foss Lake, Ohlahoma, USA. One trio from the late 1950s and one from 1970.
Quote:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-foss-lake-mystery-six-skeletons-found-inside-two-vintage-cars-pulled-from-lake-could-solve-separate-disappearances-of-a-group-of-teenagers-in-1970-and-three-adults-in-late-1950s-8823930.html

The Foss Lake mystery: Six skeletons found inside two vintage cars pulled from lake could solve separate disappearances of a group of teenagers in 1970 and three adults in late 1950s

Two vehicles only found by chance after a group of highway patrol officers decided to try out new sonar equipment

The Independent. John Hall. 18 September 2013


The mysterious disappearances of a group of teenagers in 1970 and three adults in the late 1950s may finally be solved, after two vintage cars containing six skeletons were discovered at the bottom of an Oklahoma lake.

The two vehicles, which are believed to have plunged into the water decades apart, were only found by chance after a group of highway patrol officers decided to try out new sonar equipment at Foss Lake near Elk City last Friday.

As they tested their technology, the officers were shocked to spot two rust-covered Chevrolets – one from 1969 and the other from the 1950s - buried in the mud on the lake bed.

When the vehicles were eventually pulled from the lake, officers made the grisly discovery of three skeletons inside each vehicle

Authorities have not yet established the identity of all the remains, although they say one skeleton from the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro has been identified, with a public announcement delayed until all close relatives are informed.

They did admit, however, that a clear connection between the Camaro and three teenagers who went missing in 1970 had been established.

16-year-old Jimmy Allen Williams and 18-year-olds Thomas Michael Rios and Leah Gail Johnson disappeared after going for a drive in Jimmy’s blue Camaro on November 20 of that year.

They were initially believed to have gone to watch an American football match in the hours before their disappearance, although it is now thought the group may have changed their minds and headed to Foss Lake to hunt.

Betsy Randolph, spokeswoman for Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said officers initially assumed the vehicles had been stolen and dumped, and only made the connections to potential cold cases once the remains were found.

She added: “We're hoping this is going to bring some sort of closure to some families out there who have been waiting to hear about missing people... If that's the case, then we're thrilled we were able to bring some sort of closure to those families.”

Police are believed to have linked the occupants of the second car, another Chevrolet, to the disappearance of a 69-year-old man and his two friends who went missing in Oklahoma at some point in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

Two cold cases for the price of one. Coincidental accidents, or was there foul play involved? Is there a connection?
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ramonmercadoOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 13:31    Post subject: Reply with quote

Theres a novel in it.
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ChrisBoardmanOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 13:52    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you type Foss Lake, Ohlahoma, USA into google maps you can see that many roads go perpendicular straight to it. If someone didn't know the lake was there they would drive straight into it at speed.
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EnolaGaiaOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 13:57    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are too few details available so far. The video at:

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/398311/28/Remains-of-six-people-found-in-cars-pulled-from-Okla-lake

... shows both cars sitting at one site, but there's no mention of how close they had lain on the lake bottom. The scene shows both vehicles sitting at the head of a boat ramp, but this may only indicate they were both brought out of the water at the same ramp.

I notice the front ends of both vehicles appear intact and undamaged - suggesting they didn't wreck and roll into the water (fly off a bridge, etc.). Other photos from other sites show the Camaro with its hood ripped up / open. I presume that damage was caused by attempts to open the car from the front.

If both cars had been lying on the bottom just off that boat ramp, it would suggest two tragic roll-offs a decade apart. Driving down a lane and seeing it's a boat ramp too late, or having a parking brake fail when parked on a boat ramp, have been common causes for accidents. I actually witnessed an instance of the latter (fortunately involving an unoccupied car) back in the 1960's at a TVA lake in Tennessee.
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EnolaGaiaOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 14:02    Post subject: Reply with quote

The account at this site:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/17/20547251-cold-wet-cases-oklahoma-troopers-stumble-on-six-bodies-in-two-cars-at-bottom-of-lake?lite

... states the two cars were found sitting side by side in only about 12 feet of water.

So ... My initial guess is a pair of unrelated roll-offs from the boat ramp.
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escargot1Offline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 18:01    Post subject: Reply with quote

What a fascinating find. Reminds me of a lake somewhere in America that was drained a few years ago leaving a muddy bed littered with stolen cars and, I believe, more than one discarded firearm.

I'm wondering if the sonar equipment will now be deployed in other lakes and deep rivers in the hope of clearing up more mysteries.

There certainly is a novel in it. Stephen King perhaps, or Martin Cruz Smith. Cool
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EnolaGaiaOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 18:27    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of the local news sources mentioned the pair of cars had been found near 'the marina'.

If you go to Google Maps (enter 'Foss Lake', select the entry for Oklahoma or OK), and zoom in on the southeast corner of the lake, you'll find:

- A 'Marina Road' leading to a boat ramp that matches the scene of the news photos
- This 'marina' is situated in a little inlet or embayment that opens out into the larger lake
- Right next (east) of the marina inlet is an earthen dam with a road crossing its crest
- This road has a slight dog-leg curve at its southern end - with long straightaways north and south of it.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn both wrecks were the result of high speed on the straightaway and losing control at the little dog-leg curve.
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EnolaGaiaOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 18:34    Post subject: Reply with quote

On the other hand ...

If you zoom in on the marina inlet (Google Maps; satellite view) you'll see a small white boat inside the marina inlet, cruising southwest toward the boat ramp.

Zoom in all the way on that boat, then look south of it. There are two dark spots side by side near the point off the boat's port side.

The news stories claimed the cars were side by side in only 12 feet of water.

I wonder ... Shocked
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MythopoeikaOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 18:55    Post subject: Reply with quote

EnolaGaia wrote:
On the other hand ...

If you zoom in on the marina inlet (Google Maps; satellite view) you'll see a small white boat inside the marina inlet, cruising southwest toward the boat ramp.

Zoom in all the way on that boat, then look south of it. There are two dark spots side by side near the point off the boat's port side.

The news stories claimed the cars were side by side in only 12 feet of water.

I wonder ... Shocked


Well observed.
I'm wondering if the water level was low during a long hot summertime, and these people parked their cars there for a beach party. They may well have slept in the car overnight, and then it rained...
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EnolaGaiaOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 19:33    Post subject: Reply with quote

I tend to doubt the 'parked in place; got flooded' scenario. If the lake level hasn't dropped as much as 12 feet in the last 40 years (to where the vehicles might have been made visible) I doubt it suddenly rose the 4 or 5 feet necessary to submerge either of the vehicles all at once.

I only noted those 2 dark spots because they're not far off the boat ramp to which the vehicles were dragged and because they're roughly the same size as the boat.

If those spots were in fact the submerged cars I'd suspect both accidentally drove or rolled off the boat ramp and drifted along pretty much the same courses before settling to the bottom.

Forty / fifty years is plenty long enough for things to have changed around the lakeshore. For all I know, the marina wasn't even there when the first accident occurred.
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EnolaGaiaOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 19:53    Post subject: Reply with quote

The updated local TV (KFOR) site has a slideshow of photos.

An aerial photo confirms the 'marina' is the one I referenced in my recent posts.

The caption on this one (#4) says, "Foss Lake boat ramp in marina where cars were found."

... which seems to indicate they were in fact found right there in the marina inlet.

Another thing I noticed ... The windows in the cars appear to have been rolled up, and the windshields and rear windows appear undamaged (at least until the investigators began tearing into them).

This would be consistent with occupants being unconscious, paralyzed by panic, or not knowing of the advisability of rolling down windows to equalize pressure on both sides of the doors ASAP so they can be opened.

This particular site's updates include a shift in timeframe for the older car's disappearance. Most reports originally claimed the older Chevy disappeared in the early 1960's. The KFOR site now claims it disappeared in 1969.

Here's the URL:

http://kfor.com/2013/09/17/officials-crews-pull-cars-from-foss-lake-possibly-connected-to-1970-cold-case/
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OneWingedBirdOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 19:58    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is one of the creepiest stories we've had for a while.

Brrrrrrr. Shocked
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kamalktkOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 20:01    Post subject: Reply with quote

OneWingedBird wrote:
This is one of the creepiest stories we've had for a while.

Brrrrrrr. Shocked

Just imagine being in the later car, being stuck underwater, looking out the window, and seeing another car full of dead people....

Shocked
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MythopoeikaOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 20:37    Post subject: Reply with quote

kamalktk wrote:
OneWingedBird wrote:
This is one of the creepiest stories we've had for a while.

Brrrrrrr. Shocked

Just imagine being in the later car, being stuck underwater, looking out the window, and seeing another car full of dead people....

Shocked



Brrrrrrr...seconded! Shocked
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OneWingedBirdOffline
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PostPosted: 18-09-2013 20:39    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Shocked

or

Blb-Buble-blub-bloob-gloob-blub-glub blurp

in this particular instance. Surprised
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