This is Scott, and you're listening to What Was That Like? Every other Friday, I have a guest come on and talk about something they experienced that was extremely unusual. Today's Friday, and we're in between new episodes, so I want to tell you a story. Today I'm going to tell you about William Moult A man who lived what most would call a pretty normal life in Florida His story is about how mystery can get intertwined with technology Creating an outcome that no one would have expected If you're a fan of true crime, horror, or creepy encounters, you've got to listen to Disturbed True Horror Stories. Each episode shares the terrifying experiences of real people, retold by professional actors. I bit down on his hand and he pulled back, but he pushed the knife a little harder against my sweatshirt. I began to hear the breathing and growling of what could only come from a monster. Find Disturbed True Horror Stories wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Here on the podcast, we've had a number of episodes with people telling their story of being attacked by an animal. And those episodes are always pretty popular, partly because it's pretty scary and because it can happen to any of us. Usually when an animal attack happens, the most tragic or brutal ones end up on the news. But we all know the news media doesn't necessarily do these stories justice. And sometimes the animal gets wrongly demonized or mischaracterized, and that's not good. But guess what? There's a podcast that does these stories the right way. The show is called Tooth and Claw. Perfect name for an animal attack show, right? The host is Wes Larson, who's actually a wildlife biologist and wildlife behavior expert. He takes us through these crazy stories of some really hair-raising encounters with wildlife. And of course, they're often pretty violent. And he explains the often very human reasons behind the attacks and how you can avoid having this happen to you. Also on the show are Wes's brother Jeff and their mutual friend Mike. They add a little bit of levity to these stories that can often be pretty gruesome. Scary black bears, spider bites with very unexpected side effects, even pet chimpanzees who sometimes go on a violent rampage. With almost 300 episodes, there's something for everyone. Listen to Tooth and Claw today and get better informed before you venture out into the great outdoors and learn how you can enjoy the toothy, hairy, scaly, and creepy creatures of the world in a way that's safe for them and safe for you. New Tooth and Claw episodes drop every Monday wherever you get your podcasts. Back in 1997 William Moult was a 40 mortgage broker living in Lantana Florida That on the east coast of Florida north of Fort Lauderdale By all accounts he was a pretty steady guy He wasn known to be a heavy drinker or someone who spent the whole night out partying, and he certainly wasn't the type to just walk away from the comfortable life he'd built for himself. On the evening of November 7, 1997, William went out for a few drinks. He headed to a local club in Lantana just after 9 p.m. Some people go to clubs to be the life of the party, but William wasn't really that type. He didn't interact much with the other patrons. He just ordered a few drinks and sat alone for the most part. The staff at this club would call him a quiet, polite man who didn't cause any trouble. By 11 p.m., William decided he'd had enough. He actually called his girlfriend from the club to let her know he was leaving shortly. During that call, he promised her he wasn't drunk and that he was perfectly fine to drive. This was typical for William. He was a man of his word and usually very reliable. He walked out of the bar, got into his white 1994 Saturn and headed toward home. But he didn't show up at home. When William didn't walk through the door that night, his girlfriend immediately knew something was wrong. As I mentioned before, he was never late. As the hours ticked by and morning approached, her anxiety turned into a deep sense of dread. She trusted him explicitly, so she felt right away that Something bad had happened after he left that club. By the next morning, the police were involved. The investigation started out with the usual questions. The Moult family was questioned about William's frame of mind. Was he depressed? Was there trouble at work? But everyone who knew him said the same thing. William was happy and stable, with no history of erratic behavior. There weren't any clues pointing to a voluntary disappearance. The investigators even went to the nightclub to interview the staff. They described him as unproblematic and quiet, but they had nothing out of the ordinary to report. With no leads, the police looked at the most likely scenario, a car accident. Maybe he veered off the road on his way home and crashed They sent helicopters up to scour the roads and highways from above You'd think a completely white car would be easy to spot from the air Even if it was submerged in a local lake or canal But they found nothing No tire marks no wreckage and no sign of that white Saturn The investigation continued, but there was not much for law enforcement to go on. Weeks turned into months, and then months turned into years. For 22 years, the Moult family lived in a state of agonizing limbo. It's hard to imagine the kind of grief that comes from just not knowing. There was no body to bury, no accident scene to visit, and no explanation for how a grown man and his car could just evaporate into the Florida night. When the case was eventually declared cold, the family felt frustrated and defeated. Now we fast forward to September 2019. A resident in the area was doing something many of us do when we're bored or curious. He was looking at houses on Google Earth. While scouring the area, he noticed something strange in a retention pond behind a house he was looking at Under the surface of the murky water, there was a shape that looked suspiciously like a submerged car He took a closer look, but he still doubted his own eyes He decided he needed to be sure, so he got in touch with someone he knew in the area Together, they decided to get a better look And they used a drone to fly over the water When the drone footage came back It was unmistakable Sitting beneath the pond's surface Was a white car The police were called And although it's doubtful anyone truly expected To find a body after all that time they sent a dive team in just to be safe. When they pulled that white 1994 Saturn out of the pond it was the exact make and model of the car William had disappeared in over two decades earlier. And in the driver's seat they found the remains of a person. DNA testing eventually confirmed the truth. William Moult had finally been found. So how did he end up there? If you look back at the area as it was in 1997, the mystery starts to make a lot more sense. Back then, the neighborhood hadn't even been built yet. The roads were poorly lit and the area was still under development. The retention pond had been installed in preparation for the new homes, but with no significant lighting, it was very easy for a driver to mistake the water for a part of the road. It seems that in the darkness of that November night William simply drove straight into the water Tragically once he was submerged he was unable to free himself and he drowned Because there were no homes or businesses in the area at that time, there were no witnesses to the accident. The car remained hidden for 22 years While an entire batch of homes was built all around it What's truly fascinating And a little bit eerie Is that the car had been sitting there for decades And modern technology was the only thing that could find it As it turns out There are some other situations where Google Earth has managed to crack a cold case. In 2015, in Byron Township, Michigan, a submerged car was uncovered using the same technology. When law enforcement retrieved that vehicle, they found the body of 72-year-old Davy Lee Niles inside. He had vanished without a trace nine years earlier. In that case, the vehicle had actually been visible in the satellite images since 2006, but nobody had happened to analyze that specific location until nearly a decade later. Of course, not every discovery on Google Earth leads to a tragedy. In 2017, users were convinced they saw a body lying face down in the back of a truck in Wilmington, North Carolina, It looked like something sinister had happened, but an investigation revealed that the person was actually named Oscar, a search and rescue dummy used by the Coast Guard. For the family of William Moult, the discovery brought a bittersweet kind of closure, even if it cemented the fact that they would never see him again. It's a strange world we live in now where a man can disappear into the darkness of 1997 only to be found by someone clicking through satellite images years later It shows that as technology continues to evolve more of these secrets might finally come to light if you have any thoughts or comments about this story join us over in the what was that like facebook group there are currently 9 455 podcast listeners in the group and we discuss every episode there as well as lots of other things but never any politics what was that like.com slash Facebook. I'll be back next week with an all new episode. Stay safe, and I'll see you then.
