Camaro Found at Bottom of Montrose Lake

The Effingham County Dive Rescue Team deployed to the Montrose Lake Sunday for an
investigative dive. A tip to an Effingham Water Authority Police Officer lead to the Dive Team searching the lake for a submerged vehicle.

A sonar boat was deployed early in the morning and a confirmed target was located. The remainder of the Dive Team was called in in the afternoon to recover the vehicle. Divers entered the water at about 1:30pm and located the car within 3 minutes. The car was in very heavy silt and mud, causing heavy work for divers and extended time in the recovery. Upon being pulled from the water, the 1968 Chevrolet Camaro was inspected and identification numbers located by divers. Country Insurance owns the vehicle, which generally means a claim was turned in at some point in the distant past and the company became the owner thereafter.

Effingham County Sheriff’s Department took possession of the car and will continue with the
investigation. According to Dive Rescue Team Commander Terry Trueblood, “there had been rumors of a car in that lake for several years; I guess we proved it was true."

Seven members of the Dive Rescue Team participated in either sonar work or diving operations; Montrose Fire Department and Effingham City/County Ambulance Service were also on-scene.