In September 2013, two Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers were testing a new side-scan sonar on Foss Lake in Custer County. “On the first pass, we found both cars,” one said. The cars lay side by side in about 12 feet of water, about 50 feet from the end of a boat ramp, facing opposite ways.

One was a 1952 Chevrolet. Three people had disappeared in it in April 1969: a 58-year-old woman from Canute and two men. The other was a 1969 Camaro. Three teenagers from Sayre had disappeared in it in November 1970, six days after the 16-year-old driver bought it.

In October 2014 the state medical examiner identified all six. Cause of death: “probable drowning.” Manner: accident. Nobody was charged. A trooper said the Camaro “was running when it hit the water.” One teen’s brother still believes it went in backwards and in neutral, and the old Chevrolet’s driver’s door was found open with all three people still inside.

I wrote a longer case file with a timeline and sources (link above). What I keep coming back to: two separate accidents at the same dead-end ramp, 19 months apart. Is that really so unlikely on a road that runs straight into the water?