SUNRISE, Fla. — A submerged truck pulled from a Sunrise pond Sunday may be linked to a missing person case that’s nearly four decades old.
The vehicle was found 42 feet underwater in a canal off Shotgun Road by Sunshine State Sonar, a volunteer dive team assisting in the search.
“When the vehicle comes out of the water... for our entire team, it really hits us,” said diver Mike Sullivan.
The truck showed signs of a crash, and a body was found inside.
“When we dove on it and we got down on that vehicle, the first thing I noticed was the front-end damage. The hood was folded up, the hood was broken,” Sullivan said.
Investigators believe it may be tied to a missing person case from the 1980s involving Howard Vaugh Gratteau -- a then-39-year-old air conditioning repairman.
“We were shocked to find him in the pond,” Sullivan said. “We knew immediately it was him.”
The medical examiner still has to formally identify the remains.
Investigators are now trying to figure out how the vehicle ended up in the water.
Sullivan said he just hopes the discovery helps bring Gratteau’s family peace.
“The biggest thing we always say is ‘don’t ever give up hope,’ even when decades go by,” he said.
Davie police said the investigation is ongoing and more information will be released later this week.
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