TAMPA, Fla. — One hundred yards offshore, near the Courtney Campbell Causeway boat ramp under deep, murky water, Tampa Police divers made a discovery unlike any they’ve seen before.
- Barnacle-covered car spotted earlier by boater's depth finder
- Police initially retrieved vehicle as training exercise
- Car now believed to have been used in criminal activity
- More Hillsborough County stories
"You see this car that's falling apart, has marine life all over it, and you're just looking it in awe because you've never seen anything like that before," Officer Katherine Pendzick said.
A barnacle-covered car was first spotted earlier this week by a boater’s depth finder.
"Until he actually pointed out a tire, I would've thought it was an artificial reef or concrete piling," said dive team commander Detective Greg Weeks.
Once divers determined no one was inside the car and there was no immediate emergency, Weeks used the recovery as a training exercise.
"We had to lift the vehicle with the bags, we had to have the marine unit drag the vehicle and once we got it close enough to shore we had to have a heavy duty wrecker come out," Officer Charlie Feldman said.
Though it may look like an artificial reef, the car, which has been determined to be a 2007 Dodge Caliber, is now considered evidence.
"The VIN plates had been removed, the license plates had been removed, so it was definitely used in some sort of criminal activity," Weeks said.
The car also contained gas and oils that could harm the environment. While the vehicle definitely won’t be hitting the road anytime soon, detectives hope it can help solve a crime.
Detectives are now investigating where the car came from and how it got there.