The Miami-Dade Police Department launched an investigation following a tip-off Several cars that were submerged in a lake in Doral, in Miami-Dade County, South Floridathat may be related to unsolved crimes.

Aerial photos show the vehicles’ extensive recovery efforts. How these cars got there and how long they were in this lake is a mystery; many of the vehicles were old models, dilapidated and covered in algaedetails nbc.

Researchers Doug Bishop and Ken Fleming said this on Sunday 7News What have you found 32 cars while diving into the murky lake just west of Miami International Airport.

Bishop is an investigator for the United Search Corps, a South Beach-based non-profit organization whose mission is to solve unsolved missing persons cases.

The water where divers found the vehicles is in a commercial area surrounded by businesses, including a Walmart Supercenter, a car dealership and several popular chain restaurants.

“Most of the vehicles out there are very old, which leads us to believe that these vehicles were probably dumped in this lake long before these warehouses were here.said Miami-Dade Detective Alvaro Zabaleta.

“Our unit of divers immediately worked with other agencies of the Miami-Dade Police and Fire Department so that we could set up this operation to recover all of the vehicles,” the detective explained, adding that the first vehicle to emerge from the water was a 2002 Nissan Ultima that had been reported stolen.

“It is very likely that this is the type of vehicles that we will see here in this lake. Vehicles that were abandoned and wanted to get rid of. Or those who were taken for a ride were robbed and thrown away in the lake,” said Zabaleta.

He added that homicide detectives were on hand in case a vehicle drifted out of the water and was linked to a death investigation, although he noted that they have no information leading them to believe these cases will be taken to that level. lifted, he explains. CBS.

Police will now use each vehicle’s VIN number as a starting point for their investigation.