Fisherman’s sonar spots mysterious object in Carolinas lake. Here’s what divers found

A fisherman’s sonar emitted a “strange signal” of a mysterious object in Lake Wylie, prompting a deep-water search by divers from the York County, S.C., Sheriff’s Office.

What turned up was neither the world’s largest fish nor a creature from the murky depths that no one had seen before.

They found a BMW.

Special air bags lift the BMW to the surface of Lake Wylie on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021.
Special air bags lift the BMW to the surface of Lake Wylie on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021.

The car was about 50 feet off shore and 20 feet deep, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Trent Faris said.

Using special air bags, the divers “floated” the car to the surface on Wednesday and took it to the nearby Allison Creek boat landing, Faris said. That’s on the western shore of the lake.

The car was reported stolen in Charlotte in 2017, investigators said.

Tega Cay and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers helped in its recovery.

The fisherman discovered the object more than a month ago and immediately reported it to the Sheriff’s Office, Faris said. But several agencies had to coordinate getting together to remove the car, he said.

When the fisherman reported the object, the sheriff’s boat patrol used its sonar to determine the object was a car, and sheriff’s divers went into the lake at the time to identify it, Faris said.

Finding a car in the lake is rare, Faris said.

Strange things in Lake Wylie

Strange things, however, have been found in Lake Wylie over the years.

Salvage divers have found long lost rings and jewelry, the Observer previously reported. A fisherman caught a pacu, a South American fish resembling a piranha.

As recently as 2015, small alligators have been seen in the lake

In August, officials recovered 2 pounds of marijuana when a driver leading police on a chase from Charlotte to York County drove into he lake near Ebenezer Park.

Smart-alecky comments

The BMW discovery prompted a litany of wisecracks from residents on Facebook.

“The crappie fishermen are going too far on making brush piles these days,” a man posted.

“Some fish gonna get up this morning and be like where the hell is my car,” posted a woman.

“If we put it in a bag of rice we should be able to save it,” another man wrote, referring to a popular method to get a water-soaked smartphone to work again.