Local Michigan officials are trying to piece together the events that led to human remains being trapped inside a sunken 1970s Buick sedan.
Workers were removing barrels with unknown contents from a pond when they made the grim discovery in Saginaw County’s Buena Vista Township in Michigan on Tuesday.
Officials said the Buick had rotting human remains trapped inside and believe the car could have been submerged for several years.
Police have labeled the death as suspicious and are trying to figure out how the car got into the water, who the remains belong to and how the person died.
Human remains were found trapped inside this sunken 1970s Buick in Buena Vista Township in Michigan on Tuesday. Officials believe the car could have been submerged for years
Township police detective sergeant Greg Klecker told The Saginaw News the car, which is a 1973 Buick Electra 225, had an older license plate.
He didn’t specify how many years the car may have been in the water but hints that it could have been submerged for several years.
A review of the remains by forensic scientists is expected to identify the body and the cause of death.
Klecker said to the news outlet: ‘We’ve got some leads in the case. It’s just that we can’t really discuss it at this time.’
Police are withholding key bits of information in order not to give ‘false hope’ to families who are searching for missing loved ones.
Police have labeled the death as suspicious and are trying to figure out how the car got into the water, who the remains belong to and how the person died
The pond is on state property roughly 80 miles northwest of Detroit (pictured)
The car was found after Michigan Department of Transportation workers were removing barrels from the pond after someone spotted the containers in the water.
The pond is on state property roughly 80 miles northwest of Detroit.
Michigan Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jocelyn Hall said the barrels were being removed when the car was found, prompting police to get involved.
The contents weren’t known.
She said in an email to Saginaw News: ‘While we don’t expect to know what is in the barrels for some time yet (assuming there is anything other than pond water), we have tested the soil and sediment and nothing has indicated there is contamination, in addition to the clay bottom on the pond.’
Workers were removing barrels with unknown contents from the pond when they made the grim discovery