A multi-agency effort resulted in the removal of 11 vehicles from Cedar Creek, with several vehicles pulled from 50-70 feet below the surface.
The effort was spearheaded by the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency through the use of equipment that provides real-time photos showing what's at the bottom of the lake.
The Active Sonar device shows rescuers instantly where objects are located in the water without any delay. According to Franklin County Emergency Management Agency Director Mary Glass, this allows divers to immediately access the object, in this case, vehicles.
Glass purchased the Active Sonar through funds she had available from her department's budget last year. She expressed her appreciation to the Franklin County Commission for allowing her to make the purchase.
The extrication process for the vehicles was centered around the Rock at Cedar Creek, Glass said.
Franklin County EMA also purchased four communication system masks for divers that allows them to communicate underwater. Glass hopes to purchase the remaining equipment that will allow rescuers in the boat to communicate directly with divers.
Glass described the process, which lasted more than a month, as a 'team effort,' with agencies including: the Phil Campbell Rescue Squad, Russellville Technical Dive Team, Down Time Scuba, the State of Alabama Insurance Agency Fraud Division, M&N Towing of Russellville, Calera Dive Team, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, the Bear Creek Development Authority, the Colbert County Dive Team and the Columbus, Ga., Dive Team.
Active Sonar sends out a sound pulse that bounces off objects in the water and returns as an echo. It allows objects to be located that otherwise would be undetected if they were not making any sound. An image is returned to rescuers in the boat that indicates what the object looks like.
Glass said the removal of the vehicles, many of which had been at the lake's bottom more than a decade, was an important effort that also provided important training for EMA members and area divers.
The final three of the 11 vehicles were removed from lake bottom Thursday morning. Several of the vehicles were reported to be stolen, which is the primary reason officials from the state's Insurnace Agency Fraud Division were a part of the team effort.
Glass and her staff used the Active Sonar in the EMA boat to locate the vehicles and it gave local divers and rescue officials important training on how to lift vehicles in case they become submerged with a person inside.
“Lifting the vehicle is a dangerous process and requires training to be done effectively. We're very thankful for this training and in the process, we were able to remove 11 vehicles from the bottom of the lake,” Glass said.
