No human remains found with car buried at Atherton estate
Police dog detects remains at Atherton site, but police find no sign of body
A police dog for the third time detected the scent of human remains in the ground where a Mercedes was found buried in Atherton, but police said that they have found no sign of a body in the stolen car nor nearby in the yard.
ATHERTON, Calif. - The mystery continues of the buried Mercedes found last week in Atherton. Police said that no human remains were found in the convertible nor nearby, despite police cadaver dogs repeatedly signaling that they possibly detected a deceased person.
The car that was found buried in the mansion's yard was removed by tow truck Saturday, and transported to the San Mateo County Crime Lab for further inspection, police said Monday.
A cadaver dog was brought back to the $15-million estate, and for the third time, made notification of possible human remains. However, further excavation of the scene did not reveal the presence of any human remains, according to the police.
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On Sunday ground penetrating radar was used to further examine the burial ground, they said.
"This examination did not reveal anything unusual or suspicious at the scene and no human remains were located," said Chief of Police Steven D. McCulley. "This concluded our on-scene investigation."
Police believe the Mercedes, which was reported stolen in September 1992, was buried around the same time about 5 feet underground. Unused bags of concrete were found throughout the car, police said.
The possible owner of the vehicle is believed to be deceased. Police said they are waiting on DMV records to confirm the owner.
The vehicle was buried at the property before the current homeowner moved there.
The motive and circumstances of this incident continue to be under investigation, McCulley said.