LINN — An old clay pit on Travis Greer’s property near Linn on Rt. CC was searched Thursday evening by the Mid Missouri Dive & Rescue Team, led by Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman, in conjunction with the Osage County Sheriff’s Office, in the hope of potentially recovering a stolen vehicle.
“Legend is that an old stolen vehicle is in that pond,” said Bonham. “We searched for several hours but could not locate the vehicle we saw on sonar.”
Bonham added the vehicle likely was dumped more than 20 years ago.
“That’s if it’s down there at all,” Bonham added. “There were outlines on the sonar that indicate several manmade objects, including what looked like wheels and a drive shaft, but divers were not able to locate a vehicle.”
Bonham said there were two big challenges, temperature and darkness, as on the surface, the water was 77 degrees. Below 12 feet, it was 60 and the temperature dropped to 43 degrees at the bottom of the pit, some 45 feet below the surface.
“It was very dark down there and difficult to see much,” Bonham said.
Greer purchased the property in 2017, at which time the pit was already filled with water, though he said it was lower then due to a lack of rain. He estimates the water level is a foot higher now.
A bag of animal meat was found, along with bones, including part of a deer, a cow, and an unidentified animal.
A fish was also found with a golf ball in its mouth. It is believed the small-mouth bass swallowed the ball but could not expel it, according to Conservation Agent Chad Gray, who observed the dive.
Heitman was pleased with the exercise. “We were able to practice search patterns and diver safety,” he said. “It’s also good practice with the sonar.”
In recent search operations, Heitman’s 14-person team has worked closely with Bonham’s department.
“It’s fun being able to coordinate efforts like this, and it’s always better to practice before an event happens,” Heitman said. “Osage County has a lot of good resources, so it’s good to have joint operations.”
Heitman added that having a regional dive team makes such operations easier and faster to coordinate. “Usually, jurisdictions have to wait for the Highway Patrol or a fire department to get to a scene, and that can take a while.”
The Mid Missouri Dive & Rescue Team consists of a majority of former and current law enforcement officers and was formed in 2015.