Divers from a popular YouTube channel appeared to have solved a cold case after they found the car of a missing woman submerged in a Florida pond.
Margaret Shupe Smith, 59, was last seen in Lakeland Florida, in April last year and police had been unable to find her or her Kia Soul car.
Smith’s family reached out to Oregon’s “Adventures with Purpose” sonar search and rescue team, who have more than 1.7m followers on the video platform where they showcase their use of high-tech search equipment.
The team is currently on a 45-day trip through several southern states and stopped in Lakeland for two days to help out.
On the team’s first day of their search they found two trucks in Lake Christina, but did not come across Ms Smith’s car. “We were searching all over across Lakeland and we couldn’t find anything in those bodies of water and then we were tipped off by some law enforcement that she actually got in a car accident around this area,” said executive producer Carson McMaster.
Police in the area then told them that Ms Smith had gone missing near a church just north of where she had been in a minor car accident earlier in the day.
In a video, Mr McMaster said they found a “little pond” with poor visibility but decided to search in it.
“I remember thinking there’s no way this vehicle [is] in this little tiny pond,” he said.
Within 30 minutes a team member had discovered a car, and after checking the licence plate they called in police, who found a body inside it.
“At this time, the body has not been confirmed to be the missing woman,” said Brian Bruchey, a public information officer at Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
“We are awaiting results from a DNA test. However, the body was found in the vehicle from Ms Smith’s missing person case, and wearing the same type of clothes that Ms Smith was wearing at the time of her disappearance.”
Smith’s sister, Vera Shupe, told WFLA she was grateful for the work done by the group.
“I am so grateful for them and that’s a wonderful thing that they do – going all over and finding people. I didn’t think we’d ever find her,” she said.
