End in sight for four-decades old mysteries

Those of us who grew up around lakes know the feeling.

We're naturally attracted to bodies of water for the life-sustaining liquid they hold, the fish and game they can provide, the year-round recreational opportunities.

America was settled along waterways -- even our state's name, Nebraska, can be translated as "flat water."

But we know water can be brutal and destructive, as our Colorado neighbors were reminded last week.

Water can be cruel, taking lives and hiding the truth for years, if not forever, as a macabre discovery in Oklahoma revealed this week.

Highway patrol officers were testing out new sonar equipment in Foss Lake when it picked up a couple of objects about 12 feet down, 50 feet from a marina. The lake was lower than usual because of a drought, which may have made the discovery possible.

A week later, a patrol diver discovered what they were: a 1952 Chevrolet sedan and a 1969 Camaro, each facing a different direction.

The diver found an open door, felt around and discovered a shoe. When the cars were brought to shore, as many as six remains -- three sets in each car -- were discovered.

Authorities now believe the Camaro may have belonged to Jimmy Williams, 16, who has been missing since 1970, with two friends, Thomas Rios and Leah Johnson, both 18, who were on their way to a football game, or who might have been hunting in the area.

The other was probably driven by John Alva Porter, 69, who was traveling with a sibling, Alrie Porter, and friend Nora Marie Duncan, 58, on April 8, 1969, when they were never heard from again.

When people disappear without a trace -- belongings left at home, no banking activity, no vehicles turning up, or, today, no cell phone activity, one has to consider that water may be involved. We're reminded of a Nebraska pair who were missing for years only to have been discovered to have been in a Jeep that drove into a feedlot runoff pit.

Thankfully, new technology such as the sonar being tested by the Oklahoma highway patrol and other new equipment and techniques are being employed to solve cold cases.

Oklahoma authorities are now using evidence -- two rusty rifles, a muddy wallet and a purse, as well as dental records, ID cards, jewelry and DNA -- to try to positively identify the remains from the cars in the lake.

They warn that the process could take years.

After waiting more than four decades, however, we're sure survivors are relieved to know the end of the uncertainty is in sight.