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NamUs #UP4597 / DoeNetwork 3685UMTX
Demographics
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Uncertain (possibly White / Caucasian, Hispanic / Latino)
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 80
Estimated Age Range (Years): 50-70
Estimated Year of Death: 1982
Estimated PMI: N/A (News reports quote the medical examiner as saying the remains were in the water for "at least a year")
Height: 5'4" (64 inches), Estimated
Weight: N/A
Possible Name: Francisco Melendez Rivas (DOB 2/14/1921)
Cause of Death: Undetermined
Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: September 12, 1982
NamUs Case Created: October 14, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Fort Worth, Texas
County: Tarrant County
Circumstances of Recovery: A man fishing from a boat launch ramp in the evening of September 12, 1982 near the Texas Electric Service Co. generating plant in the 2900 block of Quail Road in Fort Worth, TX, discovered a submerged vehicle in Lake Arlington and called police. Fire department divers who were dispatched to the scene discovered a gold 1972 Oldsmobile with a caved in windshield that appeared to have been backed into the lake. The vehicle was found approximately 30 feet from the shore, submerged in roughly 10 feet of water.
After the car was removed from the water, divers discovered human remains in the back seat. Phillip Millard, one of three fire department divers who responded to the scene, said the side windows of the car were still intact and that the car had expired 1980 license plates. Police said the car was registered to a man in Aledo, but the man's son told police that the family had sold the car to David Ryan Oldsmobile, located at 6620 Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth.
Tarrant County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani said that the remains had likely been in the lake for "at least a year" prior to discovery. Peerwani also said that due to the condition of the remains, an exact cause of death would be difficult to determine, although he did say there was no evidence of traumatic injuries.
Identification papers found on the body failed to provide a conclusive identification. Possible name of decedent: Francisco Melendez Rivas (DOB 2/14/1921).
Inventory of Remains: Head not recovered, one or more limbs not recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only
Physical Description
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: No information entered
Clothing and Accessories
- Blue jeans with Western belt buckle with the letter "E". (On the Body)
- Black boots (On the Body)
News Coverage
Tom Anderson, "Body found in car in Lake Arlington," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 September 1982, 10A.
A man launching a boat from a ramp at Lake Arlington on Sunday discovered a submerged automobile, which led to the discovery of a decomposed body.
[...]
Fort Worth police officer K.L. Smith said the submerged car was found by a boater attempting to use a launch ramp in the 3000 block of Quails Lane at 7:45 p.m. Smith called for fire department divers to check the vehicle, which is registered to an Aledo man.
Fire department engineer Phillip Millard, one of three divers who searched the car, said they found the body inside a gold 1972 Oldsmobile station wagon after it was pulled from the lake.
Millard said the side windows of the car, whose license plates expired in 1980, were still intact, but the front windshield was caved in. "It could have been hit by somebody launching their boat," he said.
The diver said the car apparently had been backed into the lake.
Millard said the boat ramp was near an outlet from the Texas Electric Service Co. generating plant at the lake. "That was the warmest water I've ever dived in," he said.
"Police find body in lake," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 September 1982, 12A.
A badly decomposed body believed to be that of a white male was recovered from inside a station wagon submerged in Lake Arlington, Fort Worth authorities said late Sunday.
Fire Department Lt. Les Burks said firefighters found the body at about 10:38 p.m. after locating the car on the west side of the lake near 2800 Quails Lane.
He said divers searched inside and around the car without discovering any other bodies. Late Sunday, police said they were investigating the possibility that more than one body was in the car.
Burks said a man who had been fishing off a nearby boat ramp got his line caught on the car, which was completely submerged in about 10 feet of water about 30 feet off the shore of the lake.
[...]
Burks said the body was found in the back seat of a 1972 Oldsmobile station wagon carrying license tags that expired in 1980, leading officials to speculate that the car and body may have been there since then. He said no identification was found Sunday.
"Body found in lake still unidentified," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 September 1982, 11A.
No identification has been made, even though identification papers were found on the body, said Police Sgt. L.C. Henderson.
Dr. Nizam Peerwani, chief medical examiner with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, said a preliminary examination of the bones also had failed to provide clues to the victim's identity. However, he said he believed the body had been in the lake "at least a year."
"It's going to be very difficult to decide exactly what happened. So far we haven't found any evidence of traumatic injury," Peerwani said.
The car, which had expired 1980 license plates, was registered to Waldo J. Bither Jr. of Aledo. However, his son, Phillip Bither, said the family had sold the car to David Ryan Oldsmobile.
Demographics
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Uncertain (possibly White / Caucasian, Hispanic / Latino)
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 80
Estimated Age Range (Years): 50-70
Estimated Year of Death: 1982
Estimated PMI: N/A (News reports quote the medical examiner as saying the remains were in the water for "at least a year")
Height: 5'4" (64 inches), Estimated
Weight: N/A
Possible Name: Francisco Melendez Rivas (DOB 2/14/1921)
Cause of Death: Undetermined
Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: September 12, 1982
NamUs Case Created: October 14, 2008
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Fort Worth, Texas
County: Tarrant County
Circumstances of Recovery: A man fishing from a boat launch ramp in the evening of September 12, 1982 near the Texas Electric Service Co. generating plant in the 2900 block of Quail Road in Fort Worth, TX, discovered a submerged vehicle in Lake Arlington and called police. Fire department divers who were dispatched to the scene discovered a gold 1972 Oldsmobile with a caved in windshield that appeared to have been backed into the lake. The vehicle was found approximately 30 feet from the shore, submerged in roughly 10 feet of water.
After the car was removed from the water, divers discovered human remains in the back seat. Phillip Millard, one of three fire department divers who responded to the scene, said the side windows of the car were still intact and that the car had expired 1980 license plates. Police said the car was registered to a man in Aledo, but the man's son told police that the family had sold the car to David Ryan Oldsmobile, located at 6620 Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth.
Tarrant County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani said that the remains had likely been in the lake for "at least a year" prior to discovery. Peerwani also said that due to the condition of the remains, an exact cause of death would be difficult to determine, although he did say there was no evidence of traumatic injuries.
Identification papers found on the body failed to provide a conclusive identification. Possible name of decedent: Francisco Melendez Rivas (DOB 2/14/1921).
Inventory of Remains: Head not recovered, one or more limbs not recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only
Physical Description
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: No information entered
Clothing and Accessories
- Blue jeans with Western belt buckle with the letter "E". (On the Body)
- Black boots (On the Body)
News Coverage
Tom Anderson, "Body found in car in Lake Arlington," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 September 1982, 10A.
A man launching a boat from a ramp at Lake Arlington on Sunday discovered a submerged automobile, which led to the discovery of a decomposed body.
[...]
Fort Worth police officer K.L. Smith said the submerged car was found by a boater attempting to use a launch ramp in the 3000 block of Quails Lane at 7:45 p.m. Smith called for fire department divers to check the vehicle, which is registered to an Aledo man.
Fire department engineer Phillip Millard, one of three divers who searched the car, said they found the body inside a gold 1972 Oldsmobile station wagon after it was pulled from the lake.
Millard said the side windows of the car, whose license plates expired in 1980, were still intact, but the front windshield was caved in. "It could have been hit by somebody launching their boat," he said.
The diver said the car apparently had been backed into the lake.
Millard said the boat ramp was near an outlet from the Texas Electric Service Co. generating plant at the lake. "That was the warmest water I've ever dived in," he said.
"Police find body in lake," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 September 1982, 12A.
A badly decomposed body believed to be that of a white male was recovered from inside a station wagon submerged in Lake Arlington, Fort Worth authorities said late Sunday.
Fire Department Lt. Les Burks said firefighters found the body at about 10:38 p.m. after locating the car on the west side of the lake near 2800 Quails Lane.
He said divers searched inside and around the car without discovering any other bodies. Late Sunday, police said they were investigating the possibility that more than one body was in the car.
Burks said a man who had been fishing off a nearby boat ramp got his line caught on the car, which was completely submerged in about 10 feet of water about 30 feet off the shore of the lake.
[...]
Burks said the body was found in the back seat of a 1972 Oldsmobile station wagon carrying license tags that expired in 1980, leading officials to speculate that the car and body may have been there since then. He said no identification was found Sunday.
"Body found in lake still unidentified," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 September 1982, 11A.
No identification has been made, even though identification papers were found on the body, said Police Sgt. L.C. Henderson.
Dr. Nizam Peerwani, chief medical examiner with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, said a preliminary examination of the bones also had failed to provide clues to the victim's identity. However, he said he believed the body had been in the lake "at least a year."
"It's going to be very difficult to decide exactly what happened. So far we haven't found any evidence of traumatic injury," Peerwani said.
The car, which had expired 1980 license plates, was registered to Waldo J. Bither Jr. of Aledo. However, his son, Phillip Bither, said the family had sold the car to David Ryan Oldsmobile.
