A brand new 20-ton Komatsu excavator was discovered in Lake Michigan earlier this week near Milwaukee and police are trying to find the people responsible.
According to a report from WISN TV, highway workers for the town of Oak Creek first spotted the excavator Monday while working on a bluff improvement project. The machine is said to be new and was valued at $500,000.
A report from Reuters said the excavator was originally parked at a demolition site just 300 feet away. Police told WISN that the excavator was driven off a 60-foot-tall bluff and into the river below.
Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards told the TV station that his investigators have no leads and no current theories as to what the motive might be. However, he said those responsible will likely face felony charges due to the damage done to the machine, the spilled diesel fuel in the lake and the destruction done to the bluff while the excavator was being driven to its watery grave.
