Grim Discovery, Indeed!

Here's a local headline that really caught my attention this evening...

Human remains found in sunken car

by Rachael Kimola - Story: 54155
Apr 26, 2010 / 11:48 am

It was a grim discovery on what was an otherwise lovely day.

A pair of divers in the South Okanagan had been waiting since last summer to haul an old vehicle out of Skaha Lake after discovering it during a fun dive in August.

It was found under the Highway 97 lookout in about 10 metres of water. Early reports suggest the vehicle may be as many as 40 years old.

After bringing the vehicle to the surface with air balloons and dragging it 1.5 kilometres to Skaha Marina, the unsettling sight of human remains was discovered.

Kevin Aschhoff, a professional diver from Penticton, was one of the two men who found the car and brought it to the surface Sunday.

“We found it in August and reported it to the RCMP at that time so they could investigate. We decided to haul the vehicle out of the lake as part of the Earth Day clean up, so we got permission from the RCMP to do so,” says Aschhoff.

He says after the car was towed to shore, it was flipped over.

“That's when we saw the remains, pieces of bone and clothes. We had suspected the car might have been underwater as a result of an accident, but the fact that there were remains in there all this time is unsettling.”

Sergeant Rick Dellebuur says the RCMP Dive Team is returning to the scene Monday to continue to search for evidence.

“Right now we are trying to identify the remains and the vehicle. However, I believe there is only a partial VIN and no license plate, so that will make it a little more difficult,” says Dellebuur.

He says the vehicle is being stored at Penticton Towing while the investigation is underway.