Police investigate car buried in yard of Silicon Valley home in 1990s

The car was discovered on Thursday morning by landscapers in the affluent town of Atherton in Silicon Valley, police said in a news release.

Cadaver dogs alerted to possible human remains but more than 12 hours after the car was recovered none had been found, Atherton police commander Daniel Larsen said.

Police believe the car was buried 4ft to 5ft deep in the 1990s. Larsen would not say what led detectives to that conclusion.

The bags of concrete were placed throughout the vehicle, which was blanketed by dirt over the roof, Larsen said.

According to an NBC Bay Area anchor, Gia Bang, police said the car was a Mercedes.

The sprawling home and property is valued at $15m, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. According to the outlet, the property includes a 12,000 sq-ft home purchased by the current owners in 2020. Zillow records indicated that the home, built in 1990, was listed for rent in 2013 and 2014.

Larsen said police believed the car was buried before the current homeowners bought the home, and that they were not under investigation.