Car Buried 5 Feet Under Backyard of Ritzy Home Stumps Police

Landscapers made a strange discovery while working on a yard of a multi-million dollar home in the high-end neighborhood of Atherton, California Thursday—an entire car filled with unused bags of concrete buried five feet underground.

The entire thing stinks as a cover up for some horrible crime, but so far, the scene is baffling to investigators and police. There is some evidence of foul play, but it’s not for sure yet. From KTUV:

Police officers responded to the incident just before 9 a.m. The home is on the 300 block of Stockbridge Avenue, police Commander Dan Larson said. San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office deputies also responded.

Out of an abundance of caution, Larson said police called out the San Mateo County crime-scene lab to assist with the excavation of the vehicle. Since it was unclear why the car was buried, police said cadaver dogs were brought in to investigate. Excavation at the scene continues, but so far, no human remains have been located.

Police said that the dogs made slight notification of human remains. The commander added that they “picked up a slight hit.”

Police said there were unused bags of concrete throughout the vehicle. The vehicle was buried before the current homeowner occupied the home.

Police said the vehicle, a Mercedes of some type, was likely planted in the backyard of the estate sometime in the 1990s. Investigators are working to dig up the vehicle now to investigate any possible funny business. The VIN and license plate are tied to a former owner of the home, according to NBC Bay Area. The current owners of the home had no idea there was a car buried in their backyard.

Sure seems like there are only three explanations at the moment for burying your car in your yard.

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1. Covering up a murder

2. A very elaborate, expensive practical joke to mess with future owners

3. Hiding your latest shitbox purchase from your spouse.

There’s no word from officials saying something nefarious went down in this yard thirty years ago. Perhaps police should put Jalopnik on the case. We did solve the mystery of a Ferrari buried in a Los Angeles back yard back in 2012 after all.

Buried cars can happen anywhere in the world. In 2018, a family on the British isle of Guernsey found a 1949 Daimler Consort buried in their yard. It seemed like it had been down there for a while. And one of our favorite YouTube channels, Garage 54 ENG, actually buried three cars for a year just to see what happens. There could be a car in your backyard right now! Time to rent a backhoe and find out.