Anthony
Super Moderator
CUSTER COUNTY, Oklahoma - State law enforcement officials have pulled two vehicles from a lake in western Oklahoma that may contain the six bodies of people listed as missing for decades.
Custer County sheriff's deputies decided to try out new sonar equipment at Foss Lake near Elk City last Friday. That is when the officers discovered the two vintage cars at the bottom of an Oklahoma lake.
According to sources, one of the vehicles appears to match a Camaro that went missing in 1970 along with three teenagers from the small town of Sayre. Police have linked the other vehicle, an older-model Chevrolet, to the car that disappeared along with Canute residents in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
The remains have not yet been identified.
However the sheriff says he believes the bodies in the Camaro were the three teens that went missing in 1970.
"The decomposed nature of the cars makes it difficult to positively identify here at the scene," Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said.
Sheriff Bruce Peoples is asking for anyone who recalls any information about either case to contact police.
“We’re 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,†said Betsy Randolph, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
“If that’s the case, then we’re thrilled we were able to bring some sort of closure to those families.â€
Kim Carmichael was a friend of the car owner, 16-year-old Jimmy Williams.
"I just remember how devastated everybody was," friend Carmichael said. "We lived in a little town. Nothing like that ever happened in Sayre."
Carmichael's dad died in 2003 never knowing what happened.
The State Medical Examiner is expected to use DNA from surviving family members to positively identify the skeletons.
"Scientific identification of these remains will be attempted using anthropological and if necessary, forensic pathological methods," Chief Administrative Officer Amy Elliott said in a written statement. "Depending on the features of these remains and their state of preservation, identification can take anywhere from days to years. In some cases, if the DNA is degraded, positive identification using scientific means may not be possible.â€
"This is a very detailed and meticulous process that may take some time," Elliott said.
Sheriff Peoples said that he hopes the discoveries would help put the families at ease about what happened to their loved ones so many years ago.
"It has real importance to the families to determine, so they can have closure and know what happened to their families and have remains and to go on with life now," he said.
Custer County sheriff's deputies decided to try out new sonar equipment at Foss Lake near Elk City last Friday. That is when the officers discovered the two vintage cars at the bottom of an Oklahoma lake.
According to sources, one of the vehicles appears to match a Camaro that went missing in 1970 along with three teenagers from the small town of Sayre. Police have linked the other vehicle, an older-model Chevrolet, to the car that disappeared along with Canute residents in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
The remains have not yet been identified.
However the sheriff says he believes the bodies in the Camaro were the three teens that went missing in 1970.
"The decomposed nature of the cars makes it difficult to positively identify here at the scene," Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said.
Sheriff Bruce Peoples is asking for anyone who recalls any information about either case to contact police.
“We’re 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,†said Betsy Randolph, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
“If that’s the case, then we’re thrilled we were able to bring some sort of closure to those families.â€
Kim Carmichael was a friend of the car owner, 16-year-old Jimmy Williams.
"I just remember how devastated everybody was," friend Carmichael said. "We lived in a little town. Nothing like that ever happened in Sayre."
Carmichael's dad died in 2003 never knowing what happened.
The State Medical Examiner is expected to use DNA from surviving family members to positively identify the skeletons.
"Scientific identification of these remains will be attempted using anthropological and if necessary, forensic pathological methods," Chief Administrative Officer Amy Elliott said in a written statement. "Depending on the features of these remains and their state of preservation, identification can take anywhere from days to years. In some cases, if the DNA is degraded, positive identification using scientific means may not be possible.â€
"This is a very detailed and meticulous process that may take some time," Elliott said.
Sheriff Peoples said that he hopes the discoveries would help put the families at ease about what happened to their loved ones so many years ago.
"It has real importance to the families to determine, so they can have closure and know what happened to their families and have remains and to go on with life now," he said.
