Mystery still surrounds stolen Mercedes Benz found buried in Atherton backyard
ATHERTON -- The mystery still remains surrounding a Mercedes Benz stolen in 1992 found that was found by landscapers buried in an Atherton backyard.
Since the discovery of the car by landscapers on the property Thursday morning, investigators have deployed cadaver dogs, dug out the vehicle by hand and used high-tech ground penetrating radar to see if there was any sign of human remains or foul play.
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"This examination (by the radar) did not reveal anything unusual or suspicious at the scene and no human remains were located, Atherton said in a Monday morning news release. "This concluded our on-scene investigation."
Crews completed excavation of the car on Saturday. It was taken from the property in the 300 block of Stockbridge Avenue by tow truck to the San Mateo County Crime Lab for further inspection and processing.
Investigators were able to determine the Mercedes Benz was reported as stolen to the Palo Alto police in September 1992. The possible owner of the vehicle is believed to be deceased.
"We are waiting for DMV records that are being retrieved in the DMV archives," police officials said in the news release.
Police also said the vehicle was buried before the current homeowner occupied the $15 million home. They are not suspected of any wrongdoing.
But the activity and large law enforcement presence has drawn the attention of neighbors in the affluent town located in the northern edge of the Silicon Valley.
"We're just waiting to hear what's in the car. I think he probably just buried the car for insurance money," said neighbor Kathy Consani.
Police said the vehicle was buried approximately four or five feet into the ground. There were unused bags of concrete found throughout the vehicle.
Authorities wouldn't say if investigators believe the vehicle was registered to Johnny Lew, who built the home and lived there with his family in the 1990s. Lew had a history of arrests for murder, attempted murder and insurance fraud.
Lew died in Washington state in 2015, a year after the family sold the house, his daughter, Jacq Searle.
Lew was arrested in the late 1990s for insurance fraud after he hired undercover police officers to take a $1.2 million yacht "out west of the Golden Gate Bridge into international waters and put it on the bottom," the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
In the 1960s, Lew was found guilty of murdering a 21-year-old woman in Los Angeles County.
He was released from prison after the California Supreme Court reversed the conviction in 1968, citing hearsay evidence that should not have been allowed at trial. Records showed that in 1977 Lew was convicted of two counts of attempted murder, also in Los Angeles County, and spent three years in prison.