Plan to pull sunken cars from Sims Bayou gains momentum

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The bayou may hold calm waters but what lies beneath might be the answer to crimes that have gone unsolved across Houston.

"We need to send a strong message to the criminals that are dumping these cars in our bayous that we have found your hiding place," said City Councilman Michael Kubosh.

Our camera, at just six inches under, showed clouded green waters, with virtually no visibility, which is what divers will be battling when they look for these cars.

Council member Michael Kubosh, along with Texas EquuSearch, are spearheading the effort to pull every car out -- 127 vehicles at the last count done by sonar -- and that effort will include dive teams and heavy equipment.

Kubosh said every city agency is on board, but they won't be using taxpayer money. They plan to fund this auto-extraction with private donations.

"We are raising funds from the private sector," said Kubosh. "We need the citizens to be aware that these cars are in the bayou, they are polluting our bayou. There are hindering the flow, and they're potential crime scenes."

After extraction, HPD would investigate the cars. One neighbor who's been here 30 years says the bayou is dirty with submerged secrets.

"Let's hope they get all these cars out because they need to find out whether there's any bodies in there," said Simon Cruz, a business owner situated along the bayou. "Something must've gone wrong, so they need to find out."

Kubosh said he hopes to start pulling cars out in a few weeks and that the extraction effort will require at least $150,000.