A vehicle that was first believed to be a pickup truck was recovered from Lake Sahoma on Tuesday morning.
The vehicle, which turned out to be a late-model Chevrolet Camaro, was empty, much to the relief of law enforcement, but the vehicle was also missing its engine and transmission, leading to speculation about why and how the car ended up the on the floor of the lake.
The car was upside down, and had likely flipped after being submerged, according to Sapulpa Parks Director Carson Lynch, who was on the scene for the recovery effort. “People have no idea how power water can be,” he said. “The wind and the water could’ve easily flipped this vehicle.”
As first reported by the Sapulpa Herald on Monday morning, an angler fishing at the lake discovered the vehicle with his fishing sonar. In the story, Lake Operator Couper Bernard said that the fisherman didn’t report it to the city, but called 911.
Ultimately, Oklahoma Highway Patrol was alerted, and their Marine Enforcement Division came on Monday to drop a buoy with a magnet to help maintain the location for the vehicle while they organized the rest of the officers and servicemen needed for the extraction.
By 9:00 am Tuesday morning, OHP was back on the scene, first with their boat, and later other officers from OHP and Sapulpa Police arrived to assist with the removal. The gate to the boat ramp was locked, and Bernard was standing guard.
Around 10:00 am, a large truck from 918 Wrecker arrived, with a winch and the power needed to pull a car upside down up the boat ramp. Divers from OHP descended and attached the winch, and the vehicle was extracted.
Officers did an inspection of the vehicle and determined nobody was inside either the cab or the trunk of the Camaro. They were able to pull a partial VIN number and are hoping to learn more about how this mysterious car ended up just 10 feet north of the boat ramp in Lake Sahoma.
