Renovations underway at a lake in Santa Ana recently revealed an unusual discovery that has park visitors perplexed.
City workers were draining water from the smaller of Centennial Park’s two lakes when they discovered three submerged vehicles at the bottom of the lake. The water body had been closed for renovations since August, according to a post on Santa Ana’s Instagram account. Park visitors often said that when the water level receded in early November, the tops of the cars were revealed.
Isik James said he fishes at the lake two to three times a week.
“I was stuck in a pretty weird way,” James said. “I thought there was nothing there.”
Orange County fire officials said they received a call on Nov. 6 that someone had driven a car into the lake. Firefighters initially responded to a technical rescue call and found a car that appeared to have been there for years. OCFA said no one was found inside.
“Well, there’s no reason for cars to be here at all,” James said.
“How did the car get there?” asked another park user.
Santa Ana police said this week that officers are aware of the unusual discovery but are not investigating it as a crime. A police department spokesperson said no other reports related to the car were attached.
According to the City of Santa Ana, the Centennial Lake Rehabilitation Project is a comprehensive restoration effort to improve the existing 10-acre lake. The city added that currently operating equipment and facilities installed in 1978 have reached the end of their design life.
A car enthusiast who spoke to NBC4 said he saw a car being pulled from the water. He believed two of the cars were from the 1980s and the third car was a 1965 Oldsmobile.
The car was pulled from the lake and towed to a yard, police said.
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