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Google Maps Shows Sunken Car Where Missing Man's Body Was Found (bbc.com) 37

Posted by BeauHD from the lost-and-found dept.
The remains of a man who went missing two decades ago in Florida have been found in a submerged car visible on Google Maps. The BBC reports: William Moldt, 40, was reported missing from Lantana, Florida, on November 7, 1997. He failed to return home from a night out at a club when he was 40 years old. A missing person investigation was launched by police but the case went cold. On August 28 this year -- 22 years on -- police were called to reports of a car found in a pond in Moon Bay Circle, Wellington.

When the vehicle was pulled from the water, skeletal remains were found inside. One week later the remains were positively identified as belonging to Mr Moldt. A report by the Charley Project, an online database of cold cases in the U.S., said "a property surveyor saw the car while looking at Google Earth." "Amazingly, a vehicle had plainly [been] visible on a Google Earth satellite photo of the area since 2007, but apparently no-one had noticed it until 2019," according to the report. What appears to be a silver car submerged in the pond can still be viewed on Google Maps.
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Google Maps Shows Sunken Car Where Missing Man's Body Was Found More

Google Maps Shows Sunken Car Where Missing Man's Body Was Found

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  • Actual location (Score:5, Informative)

    by enriquevagu ( 1026480 ) on Thursday September 12, 2019 @05:54PM (#59188388)

    Here [goo.gl] it is.

    • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

      by cathector ( 972646 )
      image quality appears much better in Chrome browser than say Safari, for me.
      looks like chrome enables 3D etc.

    • Google Earth (Score:4, Interesting)

      by p51d007 ( 656414 ) on Thursday September 12, 2019 @08:05PM (#59188746)
      It doesn't show up, until about 2017. Even 2010-16 you can't see it. In 1996, it was farm land.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Cederic ( 9623 )

        Your claim contradicts the article which states the vehicle has been visible since 2007.

        If the land was farmland in 1996 was that lake there anyway? That might explain how he was able to enter what is now a gated community with housing dating to 1998.

        If there was no pond there in the 90s then something very odd's going on.

        • Google earth has historic images. Before being developed with roads and man-made ponds this land was an orange grove. There was no pond in that spot prior to the development. Stories reported and images confirm that the area was under construction at the time of the crash.

    • This shows it a little more clearly:

      the silver car [google.com]

    • I want to know what the guy with the covered trailers is doing across the street. Is that a puddle of blood? At least he put cones up.

      • Covered trailer? Cones? I don't see anything like that across the street, even on any of the historical maps. What are you looking at?
        • Nevermind. For some reason once you go into the historical timeline on google earth, it doesn't show you the most recent image on the timeline slider. I had to actually exit out of historical view to get the one with the trailer. I'm guessing dirt or woodchips. The trailer might even belong to the landscapers on the next street over (southeast). They've got 2 trucks, and one of them has a similar trailer. The other has no trailer but has dirt in the bed. Might be doing 2 projects and dumped the trailer at

  • Water seems to be a good hiding place (Score:4, Informative)

    by Kernel Kurtz ( 182424 ) on Thursday September 12, 2019 @06:02PM (#59188408)

    I was just reading a similar sort of story last week.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada... [www.cbc.ca]

  • The Charlie Project (Score:5, Informative)

    by Ryzilynt ( 3492885 ) on Thursday September 12, 2019 @06:37PM (#59188510)

    Wow, this is neat http://charleyproject.org/ [charleyproject.org]

    Never knew that existed. You can even look at missing people near where you live.

    This site is a great resource for anyone looking to be an amateur detective.

    One down boys ! 14,065 to go.

  • FS: 1986 Honda Accord
    Color: black
    No low-ball offers! No tire-kickers! I know what I've got.

  • Looking at where the car ended up... how did he get it there without leaving tell-tale tire tracks or plant damage?

  • Water can be deceptive (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Errol backfiring ( 1280012 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @04:14AM (#59189650) Journal
    As a sawmiller, I know it can be very hard to see things under water, even if they are close to the surface. At some parts of our (underwater) log storage, you can only see the logs before 10:00 AM. After that time, the sunlight enters the water in such a way that the water surface blocks the view of what's under it.

    • Tried polarized glasses yet? I find them indispensable around water, or while driving, both for the same reason. They cut glare.

      • He talked about light entering the water. Polarized glasses only reduce glare, they don't help at all with other types of light effects.

        Fishing when the sun is overhead, that's about all they're good for in regards to water. Most of the time, non-polarized glasses provide a better view into water.

        • "Fishing when the sun is overhead, that's about all they're good for in regards to water. Most of the time, non-polarized glasses provide a better view into water."

          Well, that is just completely wrong.

          Any time the sun is out, it's easier to see into water with polarized glasses.

          It's a simple matter of contrast.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by G00F ( 241765 )

            It doesn't block glare, it blocks light that is polarized horizontally. Light that reflects off objects are mostly this, regardless of time of day.

            And sun glare is very polarized. It is also what prevents looking into water (besides to much sediment/etc) Even if you don't notice the glare, it just has to reflect enough light at the surface that your eyes can't perceive what's under it.

            It's amazing how clear water is, and how much you can see in it when wearing a good pair of polarized glasses. Even cheaper

            • It's amazing how clear water is, and how much you can see in it when wearing a good pair of polarized glasses. Even cheaper ones is noticeable.

              Yep. I have an Oakley frame with a $6 polarized lens and it works plenty well. I live on the coast so I have both water and fresh tarmac on the highway to look at, polarized lenses are a necessity.

            • Reflections are also coming off of objects under water. Often when the water is deep, the polarized lenses decrease visibility of objects in the water. You can still see more water.

              When fishing I find that the polarized lenses almost always help me make out geologic features on the bottom, but often removing them gives me a clearer view of both water plants and fish. Especially if it is overcast, or the sun is at an intermediate angle.

              This result should be obvious just by the physical function of the techno

  • This post introduced by Robert Stack (Score:3)

    by Thud457 ( 234763 ) on Friday September 13, 2019 @08:25AM (#59190180) Homepage Journal
    1. Center, Michigan man missing 2006, discovered 2015 [jalopnik.com]
    2. Foss Lake Oklahoma - two cases missing since 1950s & 1970s, discovered 2013 [independent.co.uk]

    Florida has a lot of lakes, canals and dredge pits. I'm sure there's lots of missing cars in them. You'd figure Minnesota would be similar, having so many lakes.


    22 years on slashdot, and today I encounter the pathetic way it renders ordered lists. sigh.

    • I wonder how many could be located if someone were to try to automatically scan all of the satellite imagery looking for signs of sunk cars. I'm sure there'd be plenty of false positives to weed through, but even just identifying a handful of cases would make it worthwhile.

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