Abandoned for Years? 1997 Mustang Pulled from Michigan Lake

It’s not every day that you see a Ford Mustang being hoisted out of a lake. But that’s exactly what happened on July 28 when Van Buren Township Public Safety’s dive team pulled a red 1997 Mustang convertible from the bottom of Belleville Lake near Rawsonville Road.

The car looked like it had been soaking underwater for years. It was rusted, weathered, covered in mud, and completely stripped of any identifiable information like license plates or clear VIN markings. Keep scrolling to see the photos.

According to a post on Facebook from Van Buren Twp. Public Safety, the vehicle was previously reported stolen, so while the VIN gave them some details, it’s not the whole story. That’s why they’re reaching out to the public for any information that might help solve the mystery.

How did this Mustang end up at the bottom of a lake? Was it an accident? Probably not. Right now, no one knows for sure, other than it was a stolen vehicle.

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The dive team used a crane to pull the car out of the lake, but the story isn’t over yet. Police are still trying to figure out who owned the Mustang and what really happened while it was underwater all those years.

If you have any information, no matter how small, about this sunken Mustang, reach out to Sgt. Jeff Stanton at jstanton@vbtmi.gov. Maybe you’ve got the missing piece to this wild mystery.

The only thing I know is someone, somewhere, is freaking out right now. They’ve been sitting on this secret for a long time.