Many people have discovered a relative captured by the Google Maps satellite, and in some occasions, it is funny, but in others, sad, because there are images of loved ones who are no longer with us. However, this satellite photo is sad and macabre, as it helped solve the mystery of a missing young man.
On November 7, 1997, 40-year-old William Moldt was reported missing after a night out in Lantana, Florida. According to reports, Moldt was in a nightclub, which he left to pick up his girlfriend, and with whom he had his last communication at 9:30 pm to tell her that he was on his way. But he never made it to the appointment.
The police investigated his disappearance, but they never found any trace or clue about him, so they thought that he had been murdered. But more than 20 years later, someone tipped off police that they had found a car submerged in a pond via Google Maps and revived the Moldt case. According to the BBC:
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO) reported Thursday that a former Grand Isles resident was doing a Google Earth search in that area when he noticed what appeared to be a vehicle in a lake.
In 2019, the body of William Moldt was found inside the car, and his death was confirmed, but not for initial reasons. Authorities said William had possibly been submerged for a long time due to the car's condition.
Now investigators in the case believe that Moldt lost control of his car and fell at the site, which was barely under construction in 1997, which is why no one would notice the accident. But nothing is certain, it is only known that it disappeared from the face of the Earth and reappeared in the same way.
The satellite image was available for more than ten years, presumably since 2007, but it wasn't until recently that someone noticed the car's presence on Google Maps. Moldt's identity was confirmed by forensics a week after the car was found and, without much response in between, his whereabouts were resolved.
