By admin 
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — A helicopter patrol led to a grim discovery in a Scottsdale lake last month.
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On Aug. 30, around 3:30 p.m., a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was circling near McCormick Parkway and Hayden Road on an unrelated call when it spotted a submerged vehicle in a McCormick Ranch lake. Scottsdale police were then called to take over the investigation.
Scottsdale officers used a drone to confirm the vehicle was in the lake. MCSO’s dive team responded to help remove the vehicle and found human remains inside.
Scottsdale police say the registered owner of the vehicle is linked to a missing persons case out of New Mexico from 2015.
“It’s kind of wild that that happened so long ago,” said Sarah, who lives in Scottsdale and was at McCormick Ranch on Friday. “Especially in this area, it’s pretty populated. There’s hotels here, lots of people, lots of traffic. Kind of just wondering how that would have happened?”
Arizona’s Family searched the New Mexico Department of Public Safety database of current missing people and found 12 individuals last seen in 2015 who are listed among the more than 800.
The remains were transferred to the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner, and authorities are working to determine whether the remains are connected to the missing person case.
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“I think that’s really sad that for such a long time, this family hasn’t had any idea of where their loved one was. And obviously, being from New Mexico I don’t think, unless there was a tie to Scottsdale, I don’t know that you would look here,” said Sarah.
Scottsdale police say at this time, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence of foul play.
Investigators say the identification process will take time. The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the victim’s cause of death.
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