Oregon tribe went to pull F-150 from remote pond. That isn’t all they found
.jpg "Volunteer divers from Oregon Dive and Rescue look on as Eastern Oregon Towing pulls a 1979 Ford F-150 out of Johnley Pond on April 12.")
A tiny pond in a remote corner of Oregon is springing back to life after a Halloween mishap sparked a broader cleanup.
Johnley Pond, north of the Umatilla River on the reservation, drew some attention last fall, when a local teen told tribal police his 1979 Ford F-150 pickup rolled in by accident.
“The story that he had given us was he parked it, got out of the truck and somehow it knocked itself out of park and rolled into the pond,” Brian Fullen, environmental health and safety specialist for Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), said in a news release.
Leaking gas, oil and other fluids was contaminating the water, threatening area residents and wildlife. It also exacerbated damage in the area, long used as a dump site and target practice range.
The CTUIR Planning Department took over, leading a cooperative effort to map out a recovery strategy.
.jpg "JohnleyPondVehicles1_250416 (1).jpg")
Crews removed truckloads of trash during the winter while the tribes and its partners made plans to pull the truck out of the water.
At one point, it considered draining the water.
After months of planning, volunteers from Oregon Dive and Rescue suited up and got to work on April 12.
They were in for a surprise.
The Ford wasn’t the only vehicle in the murky depths. They found a mid-2000s Dodge Cummins diesel truck and a 1984 Camaro IROC too.
.jpg "JohnleyPondVehicles2_250416 (1).jpg")
“(Divers) were in the water two minutes and found another vehicle that we weren’t even planning on. There’s been lots of rumors of vehicles at the bottom of it,” Fullen said.
Crews eventually recovered all three.
Photographs indicate the truck was soggy but recognizably a Ford F-150. The Dodge was slimy. The Camaro, apparently stripped, was missing windows and doors.
It’s unknown how the Dodge and Camaro ended in Johnley Pond or if they could be linked to crimes or missing person cases.
In the interim, CTUIR said its efforts to clean up the pond are paying off.
Perch, bass, baby catfish, goldfish and bullfrogs already have been seen there.
“It’s very lively,” Fullen said.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, established by treaty signed June 9, 1855, consists of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla Tribes. It is based in Mission, Ore., east of Pendleton, Ore., and operates the Wildhorse Casino and Resort, a popular destination for Tri-Citians.
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 12:59 PM.