April 3, 2019
CHELMSFORD — A car pulled out of Freeman Lake on Tuesday turned out to be a vehicle that was reported stolen in 2010, police say.
The submerged car was initially spotted by a man who was operating an underwater drone near the southeast portion of the lake at around 4:30 p.m., according to Chelmsford Police Deputy Chief Dan Ahern. The sedan was nearby a boat launch off Shore Drive.
After making the discovery in the murky water with his drone, the man contacted authorities.
The Lowell Fire Department Special Operations Response Unit dive team was called to the scene to ensure the vehicle did not contain a body.
“There was nothing in the car,” Ahern said. “So we towed the car out, cleared the scene.”
Andrew Ferreira, a 12-year-old who watched the car recovery process, said a pair of fish were found and removed from the vehicle by an employee of Christopher’s Towing shortly after the car was pulled out of the water. The fish were returned to Freeman Lake.
The stolen vehicle was placed on a flatbed truck and hauled from the scene roughly two hours after emergency crews arrived on scene.
The car appeared to be underwater for a lengthy period of times, having taken on green splotches of algae throughout it’s exterior.
