On Monday, February 6, 2023, Catawba County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division received a tip from a fisherman about a potential submerged vehicle in the Mtn. Creek area of Lake Norman. Investigators used a submersible robot from Sherrills Ford Terrell Fire Rescue to confirm the presence of the vehicle and a diver later established that it matched the description of a missing persons investigation. The investigation began in 2008 when family members reported Tina Martin missing. Martin, 43, was last seen at her Catawba County residence on February 13, 2008. She and her car, a white 1996 Ford Thunderbird had been gone ever since. Investigators worked with salvage companies to raise the submerged vehicle. After it was brought up, they identified it as Martin’s Ford Thunderbird. Sheriff’s investigators also found human remains inside the car. Martin’s next of kin were notified and investigators are now working with the medical examiner’s office to conduct a DNA analysis. The circumstances surrounding Martin’s disappearance and death are still unknown.
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