Multiple bodies were found in two cars at the bottom of an Oklahoma lake last week, the New York Daily News reported.
The human remains and vehicles were removed from Foss Lake in Elk City, Okla. and are estimated to have been missing for 40 years -- possibly helping solve cold cases that remained unanswered for decades.
Investigators announced their discoveries on Tuesday.
One of the cars, a Camaro, fits the description of a vehicle that went missing in 1970 along with three teenagers. The other car, a Chevrolet, may be a vehicle reported missing since the late 1950s along with two people.
"It's just been under water for 40 years. It's a mucky mess," said Sheriff Bruce Peoples of Custer County.
Dive teams discovered the cars while training in the lake, according to Betsey Randolph, Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokeswoman.
"So they went back and did a scheduled dive today and were going to recover the cars," Randolph said. "When they pulled the cars out of the water, the first one that came out, they found bones in the car."
After divers found bones in the second car, they continued to search the water and eventually found a skull. All remains were sent to a medical examiner's office.
"We thought it was just going to be stolen vehicles and that's not what it turned out to be, obviously," Randolph added.
Although the remains have not been identified yet, Randolph said she hopes they will help the families affected by the findings heal.
"We're hoping these individuals, that this is going to bring some sort of closure to some families out there who have been waiting to hear about missing people," she said. "If that's the case, then we're thrilled we were able to bring some sort of closure to those families."
