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Ford Ranger Stolen In Nevada Recovered From Iowa LakeJust the fact a Ford Ranger that was stolen from Nevada turned up submerged in an Iowa lake is strange enough. But in an unlikely twist, the crane operator who plucked the old red truck from the water was the pickup owner’s son.
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They say truth is stranger than fiction, and this story sure seems to qualify. After boaters using sonar picked up what appeared to be a vehicle in West Peterson Park on June 22, they called the Story County Sheriff’s Office to report it.
Members of the Story County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team and UAS Team responded, helping to locate the truck in the murky depths. Centra Iowa Towing and Recovery brought in the big guns, using a crane to get the vehicle out of the water and onto dry land.
But Cody Holmes was met with a shocking realization afterward: the truck he had been looking forward to driving when he turned 16 but that vanished from his family’s driveway was in front of him, a muddy, mangled mess.
Image via Story County Sheriff’s OfficeHolmes’ mom, Robin French Frazier, told Ames Tribune she tossed the Ranger’s title a few years ago, figuring it would never be found since it went missing 20 years ago. It turns out she was wrong.
But we’re not sure having the title would’ve been of much use. After all, the Ford looks rough and we’ve seen how fast vehicles that have been sitting underwater for years on end rust up.
Still, what are the chances that Holmes and his family’s truck would make the journey from Nevada to central Iowa and he was the one to pull it out of its watery grave?
The only clue about who might have taken the Ford Ranger was some front end damage. Holmes believes it was some teenagers who subsequently crashed the truck. But how did they drive it so far, then just dumped it?
There has to be more to the story, but we’ll likely never find out.
Images via Story County Sheriff’s Office
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