Silver Tailings: The Secret Truth of Rumors

Authorities at Lake Tahoe solved the mystery of a scuba diver who disappeared July 10, 1994 in the mountain lake’s deep, frigid waters.  The well-preserved body of Donald Christopher Windecker was discovered July 23, 2011 on an underwater shelf, 265 feet below the surface.

A remote-controlled mini-submarine with a robotic claw raised the man’s remains July 27th, near Rubicon Point. Just beyond the ledge where his body was found, the lake plunges to a depth of 1,645 feet.

Windecker’s discovery has added grist to the rumor-mill Lake Tahoe doesn’t give up her dead. The most famous of these stories involves Jacques Cousteau’s visit to the massive Alpine lake in the 1970s.

The famous Frenchman supposedly brought with him, a special high altitude submarine to the lake to investigate Tahoe’s depths. He’s reported to have emerged from the water — shaken — but not from the cold, saying, “The world is not ready for what I’ve seen.”

Furthermore, Cousteau’s first venture to Lake Tahoe was also his last one — as he refused to return.

This event’s coupled to the long-held belief the lakes been the dumping ground for the Mafia in the 1950’s and 60s as well as the final resting place for Chinese railroad laborers from the century before.  It conjures up images of hundreds of people standing on the bottom of the lake’s bed, arms outstretched, eyes-wide open.

Creepy!

Actually, Cousteau’s visit never happened and it’s doubtful that the mob used the Lake like it’s rumored because they were always under surveillance. Moreover, records show large numbers of Chinese railroad laborer remained on the California Pacific Railroad’s payroll even after the transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869.

Finally, University of Nevada, Reno biology professor Jennifer Hollander explains to the Reno Gazette-Journal why bodies lost in Lake Tahoe don’t often float.

“All of our bodies have bacteria that live in them,” she said. “They are anaerobic, meaning they thrive without oxygen.”

“When we die, our bodies stop breathing and the bacteria kick into gear breaking down our bodies. It’s called putrefaction. The bacteria produce gases as waste: carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide.”

“In warm water, the bacteria will still work just fine, so gases will build up and bodies will float. In cold water, the lower temperatures make them relatively inactive. It doesn’t kill them, but they can’t grow. They become inactive.”

As for Windecker — his body was protected from marine life by his dive suit. Instead his remains were subject only to the slower working cold bacteria.

So there’s no truth to the rumors — but plenty of fact behind the truth.