Maricopa Police Department tonight confirmed a body was recovered from a vehicle submerged in a Province lake earlier today.
Police spokesperson Monica Williams said the department is currently investigating the case with the Pinal County Medical Examiner. This includes identifying the remains.
“Only once a positive identification has been made and next of kin notifications have been made, will MPD or the [medical examiner] release an identity for the deceased,” Williams wrote in an email to InMaricopa.
Around 3:35 p.m. today, officers pulled a blue Hyundai vehicle from a small lake on the northeast corner of Rummy Road and Pinochile Lane in the Province community. This occurred just hours after MPD released a missing persons report for Sandra Lee Karelsen, 67.
Karelsen was last seen Feb. 13, according to a close friend, and drove a vehicle similar to the one recovered from the lake.
This is a breaking story, check back for updates.
![City Manager Ben Bitter speaks during a Chamber of Commerce event at Global Water Resources on April 11, 2024. Bitter discussed the current state of economic development in Maricopa, as well as hinting at lowering property tax rates again. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/spencer-041124-ben-bitter-chamber-property-taxes-web-218x150.jpg "City gave new manager big low-interest home loan")
