In this undated image made from a video by KWTV-DT, rescue crew recover a body near Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City, Okla. Authorities are trying to determine whether three bodies that have been discovered in or near an Oklahoma City-area lake in less than two weeks are connected. The body of 18-year-old Kelvin Perez-Lopez was pulled from Lake Overholser on Feb. 23. 2019. On March 2, the body of a teen or young adult was discovered along the lake's southernmost edge. That body has not been identified. The third body was discovered Tuesday in a wooded area near the lake. (KWTV-DT via AP)
Republished March 07, 2019 - 2:57 PM
Original Publication Date March 07, 2019 - 10:31 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - A car discovered in an Oklahoma City-area lake may be connected to the bodies of two males discovered there recently, authorities said Thursday.
The body of Kelvin Perez-Lopez, 18, was discovered on Feb. 23 in Lake Overholser, a 2.34-square-mile (6-square-kilometre) lake in far western Oklahoma City along the border with Bethany. On March 2, the body Jordan Vladimir Chaj Gonzales, 19, was discovered in the same lake.
On Tuesday, a third male body was discovered in a wooded area near the lake and police said they are working to identify him.
The discovery of all three bodies in the last two weeks prompted residents nearby to question what caused the deaths.
Lt. Angelo Orefice of the Bethany Police Department said the teens knew each other and they were reported missing at the same time. Orefice also said that Perez-Lopez' family reported he had a vehicle when he disappeared that had not been recovered.
Divers entered the lake Thursday morning near where police found what appeared to be skid marks along a road that circles the lake, officials said. Officials discovered a vehicle about 11:30 a.m. and said it appears to be connected to the case.
The Office of the State Medical Examiner is performing autopsies on the teens' bodies to determine the cause and manner of death and police have not said how the teens died. Investigators said there were no signs of trauma or foul play on the teens' bodies when they were recovered from the lake.
Bethany Deputy Chief of Police John Reid said it is possible the third body was that of a homeless man and there is no evidence that the man is linked to the other two bodies.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019