Mark Richardson
Active Member
From the “Bearcat Files” comes an eerie story about the loss of an Amphicar, as written by a staff reporter of the London, Ontario Free Press in two articles dated August 24-26, 1967.
I also have a first-hand account of the harrowing incident by the owner of the car, Roger Crowe, who still lives within a few miles of where it all took place. I was lucky enough to make contact with Roger and he was kind to tell me the story and fill in some of the missing information from the articles.
“Gill Net Sinks Amphibious Car”
London Free Press, 8/24/67 (Colchester)
“An investigation may be launched into the placing of fishing nets near recreational boating areas in the wake of what might have been a drowning incident yesterday.
Three Detroit residents escaped unharmed but exhausted when their amphibious car overturned in Lake Erie, about 2 miles offshore.
Township police said the three, Roger Crowe, 21, Fred Roberts, 21, and William DePew, 20, were fishing from their car near midnight when, the vehicles propellers became entangled with a gill net. The car overturned and sank.”
According to Roger, the three went Walleye fishing at night out on Lake Erie in the Amphicar he had bought four months earlier at Bearcat Motors, where he and his father worked. He said while they were moving to a better fishing spot, through the darkness he saw a floating plastic jug as he ran over it but thought nothing more of it. Very shortly after he said the car stopped making forward progress and looking over the side saw a gill net at the surface. Roger thought the net might be caught in the wheels, and by spinning the props backward he might cut through the net and free the car. Obviously, this only made things worse, and the net began winding up on the props and pulling down on the rear of the car as it was a very large and heavy commercial size net. As the water rushed into the engine compartment it quickly flooded the engine and overwhelmed the capacity of the bilge pump and the car began to ride very low in the water. Roger was sure the car would not sink as that is what he was told when he bought it, but as he sat in the passenger seat his crew donned life jackets and abandoned ship. Roger stayed in the car until eventually it, along with the net, slowly sank out from beneath him and out of sight leaving them 2 miles offshore floating in the dark.
They began to swim for the Canadian shore and back to the marina where they launched. As they swam and rested, and swam more, it became obvious that they were not making much progress against the wind and current. Roger, who was the strongest swimmer, decided that he would swim to shore and come back for the other two. As Roger swam, he became very tired and started to cramp up. He stopped and said a little prayer, and he told me that although not very religious, his strength was suddenly restored, and he made his way onto shore.
When he finally arrived, he thought about just grabbing the first boat he came across to start the rescue of his friends, but decided instead to find the nearest house where he could phone for help.
When the police arrived, they secured a suitable boat from the marina and headed out into the night to find the other two floating men. They would cruise a little and shut off the engine, calling into the night for the castaways and listening for a response. Again and again, they did this trying to locate the exact spot where the two were lost somewhere two miles offshore. They were almost ready to give up when they at last heard a cry for help and the rescue was made with all safe and accounted for, all except the 4-month-old red Amphicar Roger had just bought from his employer which was tangled in a fishing net at the bottom of the lake.
“3 in water 4 hours, Amphicar tips over”
London Free Press, 8/25/67 (Colchester, ON)
‘Three Detroiters narrowly missed drowning Tuesday night, spending four hours out in the chilly waters of Lake Erie after their Amphicar overturned and sank.
Township police said the three, Roger Crowe, 21, Fred Roberts, 21, and William DePew, 20, were fishing from their car near midnight when, the vehicles propellers became entangled with a gill net. The car overturned and sank.
The three men were wearing life jackets and Mr. Crowe, owner of the car and experienced swimmer, swam the two miles to shore. He alerted Colchester police Chief Robert Long about the incident.
Chief Long called Bill Lankin, owner of Lankin’s Boat Livery, and the two went to the scene to rescue the other two men. The two men, when rescued, were near the point of exhaustion.
The men were taken to Windsor, ON and put on a Detroit City bus for the trip back home. They suffered no injuries and required no hospital treatment.
The car, valued at almost $3000, weighs an estimated 2400 pounds. It is unknown whether the vehicle can be raised.
An investigation into the placement of the gill nets may be held. The nets were set too close to the surface and became a major cause of this incident and pose a threat to any boat traffic. They are particularly difficult to see, especially at night.”
Roger told me that the car was written off by his bank and insurance company, but he did not have coverage in the water because this was a widely unknown requirement for the newly created amphibious vehicle.
Roger purchased a metal detector suitable for scanning the bottom of a lake in 25 feet of water and went back with a boat to try to locate the car. They towed him in a dinghy back and forth for hours with no success.
He said that he and a few friends went back to Canada several nights later and asked at a local bar to see if anyone was able to locate and possibly salvage the car. They found a skipper willing to try, but the cost would have been too high, so they did not pursue it further. The car was seemingly lost, swallowed up by Lake Erie.
Roger said he thought that the owner of the fishing net went back out and towed the net and the car to deep water and sank it so any investigators into the criminal nature of the net placement that night would not be able to find anything.
He also heard that the car and net was later retrieved, and the car was restored and somewhere in Canada, although this could not be confirmed. I obviously know the VIN number of this red Bearcat car, so if 106 522 642 is ever found, it can tell a fish tale from the depths of an eerie August night at the bottom of a great lake.
Thanks to Roger Crowe who contributed greatly to this story and lived to tell the tale 55 years later.
Mark Richardson
I also have a first-hand account of the harrowing incident by the owner of the car, Roger Crowe, who still lives within a few miles of where it all took place. I was lucky enough to make contact with Roger and he was kind to tell me the story and fill in some of the missing information from the articles.
“Gill Net Sinks Amphibious Car”
London Free Press, 8/24/67 (Colchester)
“An investigation may be launched into the placing of fishing nets near recreational boating areas in the wake of what might have been a drowning incident yesterday.
Three Detroit residents escaped unharmed but exhausted when their amphibious car overturned in Lake Erie, about 2 miles offshore.
Township police said the three, Roger Crowe, 21, Fred Roberts, 21, and William DePew, 20, were fishing from their car near midnight when, the vehicles propellers became entangled with a gill net. The car overturned and sank.”
According to Roger, the three went Walleye fishing at night out on Lake Erie in the Amphicar he had bought four months earlier at Bearcat Motors, where he and his father worked. He said while they were moving to a better fishing spot, through the darkness he saw a floating plastic jug as he ran over it but thought nothing more of it. Very shortly after he said the car stopped making forward progress and looking over the side saw a gill net at the surface. Roger thought the net might be caught in the wheels, and by spinning the props backward he might cut through the net and free the car. Obviously, this only made things worse, and the net began winding up on the props and pulling down on the rear of the car as it was a very large and heavy commercial size net. As the water rushed into the engine compartment it quickly flooded the engine and overwhelmed the capacity of the bilge pump and the car began to ride very low in the water. Roger was sure the car would not sink as that is what he was told when he bought it, but as he sat in the passenger seat his crew donned life jackets and abandoned ship. Roger stayed in the car until eventually it, along with the net, slowly sank out from beneath him and out of sight leaving them 2 miles offshore floating in the dark.
They began to swim for the Canadian shore and back to the marina where they launched. As they swam and rested, and swam more, it became obvious that they were not making much progress against the wind and current. Roger, who was the strongest swimmer, decided that he would swim to shore and come back for the other two. As Roger swam, he became very tired and started to cramp up. He stopped and said a little prayer, and he told me that although not very religious, his strength was suddenly restored, and he made his way onto shore.
When he finally arrived, he thought about just grabbing the first boat he came across to start the rescue of his friends, but decided instead to find the nearest house where he could phone for help.
When the police arrived, they secured a suitable boat from the marina and headed out into the night to find the other two floating men. They would cruise a little and shut off the engine, calling into the night for the castaways and listening for a response. Again and again, they did this trying to locate the exact spot where the two were lost somewhere two miles offshore. They were almost ready to give up when they at last heard a cry for help and the rescue was made with all safe and accounted for, all except the 4-month-old red Amphicar Roger had just bought from his employer which was tangled in a fishing net at the bottom of the lake.
“3 in water 4 hours, Amphicar tips over”
London Free Press, 8/25/67 (Colchester, ON)
‘Three Detroiters narrowly missed drowning Tuesday night, spending four hours out in the chilly waters of Lake Erie after their Amphicar overturned and sank.
Township police said the three, Roger Crowe, 21, Fred Roberts, 21, and William DePew, 20, were fishing from their car near midnight when, the vehicles propellers became entangled with a gill net. The car overturned and sank.
The three men were wearing life jackets and Mr. Crowe, owner of the car and experienced swimmer, swam the two miles to shore. He alerted Colchester police Chief Robert Long about the incident.
Chief Long called Bill Lankin, owner of Lankin’s Boat Livery, and the two went to the scene to rescue the other two men. The two men, when rescued, were near the point of exhaustion.
The men were taken to Windsor, ON and put on a Detroit City bus for the trip back home. They suffered no injuries and required no hospital treatment.
The car, valued at almost $3000, weighs an estimated 2400 pounds. It is unknown whether the vehicle can be raised.
An investigation into the placement of the gill nets may be held. The nets were set too close to the surface and became a major cause of this incident and pose a threat to any boat traffic. They are particularly difficult to see, especially at night.”
Roger told me that the car was written off by his bank and insurance company, but he did not have coverage in the water because this was a widely unknown requirement for the newly created amphibious vehicle.
Roger purchased a metal detector suitable for scanning the bottom of a lake in 25 feet of water and went back with a boat to try to locate the car. They towed him in a dinghy back and forth for hours with no success.
He said that he and a few friends went back to Canada several nights later and asked at a local bar to see if anyone was able to locate and possibly salvage the car. They found a skipper willing to try, but the cost would have been too high, so they did not pursue it further. The car was seemingly lost, swallowed up by Lake Erie.
Roger said he thought that the owner of the fishing net went back out and towed the net and the car to deep water and sank it so any investigators into the criminal nature of the net placement that night would not be able to find anything.
He also heard that the car and net was later retrieved, and the car was restored and somewhere in Canada, although this could not be confirmed. I obviously know the VIN number of this red Bearcat car, so if 106 522 642 is ever found, it can tell a fish tale from the depths of an eerie August night at the bottom of a great lake.
Thanks to Roger Crowe who contributed greatly to this story and lived to tell the tale 55 years later.
Mark Richardson