DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Divers pulled two bodies from a lake in a Deerfield Beach neighborhood after a chaotic chain of events that began with a reported burglary ended with a watery crash, leading authorities to take a man into custody and search for a missing third person.
7’s Drone Force hovered above a large law enforcement presence in the area of Lakeside Drive and Lakeside Way, just north of West Hillsboro Boulevard, off North Powerline Road, near the Deer Creek Golf Club, at around 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, they received a 911 call about vehicle burglaries along the 700 block of Deer Creek Lakeside Way, just before 4 a.m.
Investigators said multiple subjects were breaking into vehicles in the community.
One resident, Donald, said his wife found the inside of their vehicle trashed.
“They just threw everything all over the seats and kind of rummaged through everything, trying to look for something. Fortunately, there was nothing in the car of any value,” said Donald.
He also told 7News some of his neighbors’ vehicles were hit.
“Evidently, somebody was breaking into vehicles,” said Donald. “A couple other neighbors had the same thing happen to them.”
When authorities responded, several subjects fled the scene.
“After deputies arrived, at some point, the driver of the suspect vehicle fled the area,” said BSO spokesperson Carey Codd.
But the subjects’ SUV would not make it far. Rather, deputies said, it crashed into the water behind Lakeside Way.
Andrew Brown, who lives nearby, said he was shocked when he heard the helicopters.
“The helicopters were overhead and there was a lot of people running back and forth,” said Brown.
“If you don’t know the neighborhood, he might have speeded down that road, and it goes right into the lake,” said an area resident.
The area resident, who asked not to be identified, also told 7News she saw helicopters circling the lake at around 4:15 a.m.
“I heard all that commotion. I was like, ‘Something’s really wrong,'” she said.
A man who was inside the vehicle was able to get out of the water, but his escape attempt was short-lived.
“An adult suspect made it out of the vehicle and onto land. That adult male was subsequently taken into custody,” said Codd.
One of the responding deputies went into the water in an attempt to rescue the others who were inside the SUV, but was unable to reach them.
BSO’s Dive Team, Aviation, K-9 and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue units also responded to search for the remaining passengers.
“There must have been 30-plus police officers in heavy tactical gear,” said the area resident.
Cameras captured the moment divers pulled a body from the water, at around 8:30 a.m. Hours later, a second body was pulled from the water.
“That’s very sad, very, very sad,” said neighbor Tina Voss.
“You don’t wanna see something like that either. It’s a sad thing, running away and end up in a lake,” said Donald.
Hours later, the white SUV was pulled from the water and loaded up onto a tow truck.
“It’s unbelievable. We are in a really quiet neighborhood,” said Voss.
Detectives with BSO’s Homicide and Crime Scene units are attempting to determine the circumstances surrounding this incident.
Officials have not identified the three individuals.
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