Vehicle recovered from bottom of Walnut Grove Pond

Apr 14, 2023

Digital Content Manager

EUGENE, Ore. -- Crews with the Lane County Sheriff's Office conducted an operation to salvage a vehicle from the bottom of Walnut Grove Pond on Monday, and they believe the car had been there for three decades.

The LCSO said a man reported seeing a car in a pond at Walnut Grove City Park on Sunday, January 1. Walnut Grove City Park is located on the Northwest Expressway near the intersection with the Maxwell Connector. Authorities mounted an operation to salvage the vehicle from the pond, and volunteer divers arrived at about Noon on January 2. LCSO officials said they believe the vehicle to have been at the bottom of the pond for about 30 years.

John Pielli, a volunteer diver with the LCSO, said that when they got down there, the crew found more than one car in the water.

"We did a dive today and found three different vehicles. It appears to be two pick-ups and a Ford Pinto. We were able to recover the Ford Pinto," Pielli said. "Fortunately, from what we could see, we did not find any bodies in the vehicles today so hopefully we can bring any closure we can."

The recovery crew said volunteers will return to pull up the two pick-up trucks at a later date.

Digital Content Manager