Cancer-stricken man leaves friend at bar and is never seen again – until Google Maps find nine years (Image: Family Handout)
David Lee Niles left a friend at a bar in Byron Township, Michigan, on October 11, 2006, before disappearing and never being heard from again.
His unusual vanishing almost 20 years ago developed into a missing person case that was investigated by the police but continued to remain a mystery. It was in 2011, after years of no hope, that his family decided to post an online.
It read: “David Lee Niles, age 72, of Wyoming, passed away, and only God knows the time and place.”
The post included details for a memorial service that would take place at the Faith Reformed Church in their city.
:
At the time of his disappearance, it was believed that David was having a hard time in his personal life after receiving a cancer diagnosis and developing depression.
The abrupt departure of Niles left his loved ones with so many unanswered questions, and it wasn’t until 9 years later that they would uncover a clue linking to his whereabouts.
Brian Houseman was decorating a tree for Christmas outside of the Cook Funeral Home in Byron Center, when he spotted what looked like a car submerged in a pond. Concerned, he decided to call the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, which led to investigators taking a look at trusty Google Maps.
An overhead satellite image of the area revealed that the car had been visible from the online platform for years, hiding in plain sight. The police sent a dive team down, and the submerged car, which had been hiding right under their noses, was pulled from the water.
The wreckage was pulled from the water after its discovery on Google Maps. (Image: News 8)
A car is visible in a satellite image of the pond on Google Maps. (Image: GoogleMaps)
When the police took a look inside the vehicle, they found skeletal remains of the missing David Lee Niles along with his wallet. David’s loved ones gathered at the tragic scene, and son-in-law Scott Hathaway told WOOD-TV: “For us today, it’s a closure of a long search. Why God waited nine years, I have no idea, but we’re happy. It’s good to have him home.”
Lieutenant Ron Gates told the radio show, , that the vehicle had been there for a while. He went on to say, “There were no tracks in the grass. It looked like the vehicle had been there longer than one day.”
Talking about the loved ones of the now-found David Niles, he said: “I think in their minds they realised that he was deceased. My understanding is that they are relieved to have closure and to know that the body has been found.”
Despite the discovery of David’s body giving the family some closure, the mystery still remains as to how and why David and his car ended up in the pond.