On The Lighter Side: Buried Mercedes Found In California Mansion Backyard

On The Lighter Side: Buried Mercedes Found In California Mansion Backyard

This is pretty crazy…

On the morning of October 20, landscapers working in the yard of a multi-million dollar Silicon Valley home in California discovered a buried Mercedes-Benz. Immediately, they called police, who showed up with cadaver dogs, expecting to find the worst. Instead, all they discovered in the interred vehicle were bags of concrete mix, leaving everyone mystified.

The discovery, which was made in Atherton, initially left police and members of the public baffled. As reports flooded in, aerial footage of the dig didn’t help shed light on just what kind of car was buried in the yard. The only thing known at first was that the vehicle was large, perhaps a full-size sedan or an SUV. Police believed it was hidden back in the 1990s under between 4 and 5 feet of dirt for reasons unknown.

Adding to everyone’s speculation is the fact the house is a multi-million dollar estate located in one of the most affluent parts of the US. One might expect to find a car buried in some seedy area, a couple of dead bodies in the trunk, but not left underground at a mansion with unused bags of cement inside. The whole thing was just weird.

Now, everything is coming into sharper focus. According to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, the Mercedes was reported stolen in 1992 and the owner, the late Bocktune Lew, collected $87,000 for the car.

A neighbor told the media Lew had quite the reputation. The man, who died in 2015, once had been caught in a scam which involved planning to sink his million-dollar yacht by the Golden Gate Bridge, then collect the insurance money.

Lew also has a notorious history of not only fraud but also murder, for which he was arrested and successfully prosecuted. However, the California Supreme Court reversed his conviction in 1968. But in 1977 he was convicted of two counts of attempted murder, spending three years in prison.

There's zero confirmation on what model the Mercedes-Benz is, only a mention that it's a convertible. If we were to guess, we'd say it's an SL, but for now no further information has been released to the media.

We thank Motorious for reprint permission

Website Rt Graphic Ep.51 Nancy Rolland 600x400 1.9.24

Shop & Product Showcase

  • Read testimonials from real collision repair shops about the tools and technologies they use to get the job done.