stuff found..

[gheeres]

It was a brisk autumn day on Sunday, September 28th 2003 when my dive partner Al and I headed down to Red Granite Quarry on a hunt for . When we arrived at Red Granite Quarry, we learned that an openwater class was arriving for certification dives. Uh Oh! So we quickly geared up and jumped into the water. We planned on going down to the little known boat at 72'...which has been elusive to locate at times. In short order, we locate the boat, which hadn't been visited for some time due to the 1+ inch of black silt covering it, and wander off into the inky blackness...exploring. Somehow we managed to find a dropoff or crevice which took us down into pitch blackness and a depth of 115' where we found some weird 4x4x4 metal or plastic storage container. While we were examining the container, our computers beeped in unison to indicate we were entering into deco. The thought of doing deco didn't appeal to us at Red Granite so we headed for the surface where we saw our first rainbow trout in the quarry. Scouring the shallows...there wasn't a jellyfish to be found.

So we surface to be swarmed by what must have been 20-30 open water students getting geared up and ready to enter the water. They had tarps and gear laid out in front of and alongside of our vechicle, essentially boxing us in...and downright RUDE. With that many students in the water, it was obvious our diving there was done for the day. What was semi-decent visibility (7-10 ft) for Red Granite would quickly diminish to pea-soup.

So where to?

Relunctantly...since we were already in the area, we decided to head over to Flynns quarry. In my opinion, last year there seemed to be many, many more jellyfish there than at Red Granite. On the surface we had talked about raising the safe, which another diver had claimed was locked/sealed, to see what was in it. So we jump in and head over by the cliff and junk pile. At the base of the junk pile, Al found a nice 18 speed bicycle...which looked fairly new. Upon locating the safe...we see the safe is already open and empty...so no point in raising it. We start working our way around the cliff/outcropping...leaving the majority of the junk behind...when I see a new tire and rim. Al, who was ahead of me, just swims over it...and I thought he missed it until I get closer and see there's not one wheel...but four wheels. And it was a vehicle...a midnight blue 1999 Dodge Durango flipped up on it's roof. We go around the vehicle several times and I go inside through the rear hatch checking for possible bodies. The steering wheel was held in place by a tie-down strap...but no bodies. The license plate was still on the vehicle with a Nov 2003 expiration. Al and I look at each other...and signalled time to go up to talk. The vehicle obviously hadn't been down very long because there was no rust started and very little silt and debris was on the vehicle.

So we decide that we should call this in to the authorities. On the way back towards shore, I stumbled across a jellyfish which I worked on containing while Al got his gear off and made a call to the police. As I'm down hunting for more jellyfish...I see small rocks floating down next to me. Hmm...Al must want me to come up. So I come up and he's on the phone with the dispatcher. They're not turning anything up with the plates. So I reconfirmed the plates to Al, she reran the numbers and sure enough...it was a stolen vehicle out of Winnebago county, just outside of Oshkosh. They were going to send an officer right away. Al sent me back down with his camera to snap a few pictures in case the sheriff/police needed anything. When I surfaced again, the sheriff was there and they reviewed the pictures. We also mentioned the bicycle that looked fairly new and the sheriff asked if we could retrieve that since he had a few reported stolen recently. So I went back down with the lift bag and retrieved the bicycle. As soon as Al brought it over to him, the sheriff recognized it and said...yup...that bicycle had been stolen not more than a couple of weeks ago out of Red Granite.

With more than a full day of excitement, we ended our diving. The sheriff could not get any details about the stolen vehicle. Supposedly Waushara County, who's jurisdication the area was, would not release any information, not even to the sheriff...so we don't know how long it had been stolen, etc. I guess Waushara county was having their recovery unit come out either that night or the following day to retrieve the vehicle for investigation.

You're saying...yeah right. And I'd have to agree...it's too unbelievable to be believed... But here are a couple of the pictures I snapped as proof:







So what appeared to be a mediocre day of diving, quickly turned out to be the highlight of our year. So when asked what's the neatest thing that either of us found while diving, we can say a 1999 Dodge Durango!!!

It just goes to show...you just never know what you'll find while diving...I guess that's why we keep going back to the same places over and over...

Dive safe and above all...have fun!!!
George & Al