Two divers from the Dallas Police Department’s underwater recovery team worked with officers on the shore to locate submerged vehicles in a small lake just west of downtown Dallas.
Dubbed operation “Diving for a Cleaner Dallas,” Assistant Chief Catrina Shead said the effort emphasizes justice for victims and improving the environment in area waterways.
The search at Fish Trap Lake, behind a former Dallas ISD high school and a retirement community, revealed nine vehicles submerged beneath the surface.
“It could’ve been carjacking; it could have been taken out of a person’s yard, these vehicles could have been involved in a robbery,” Shead said.
Investigators working unsolved cases were notified as each vehicle was pulled to begin cross‑checking any connections the vehicles might have to unresolved investigations, Shead said.
Gene Leonard, who works nearby and typically visits Fish Trap Lake during his lunch hour to fish, said he was impressed by the recovery work.
“It’s amazing to watch them pull them (vehicles) out,” Leonard said. “They’re doing a good job by cleaning up the area.”
The Dallas Police Department began the vehicle‑recovery operation in the Oak Cliff neighborhood in June, when officers removed another nine vehicles from Lake Cliff Park. That scene drew a large crowd of onlookers from the nearby densely populated North Oak Cliff neighborhood.
Shead said results from the Lake Cliff operation showed most of the vehicles were linked to stolen‑vehicle investigations.
She added the department plans to expand the recovery program to other area lakes, including Bachman Lake near Dallas Love Field, though she did not provide a specific timeline.