The Steele Dodge

On January 24th, 1960, highway 101’s ambulance point claimed another vehicle when Dale Steele’s 1950 Dodge sedan slid off the icy road into the dark depths of the lake.  Beverly Sherman was a passenger in the back seat and was only 20 years old at the time of the accident.  All four passengers in the car swam to safety and watched the dimming headlights descend into the inky blackness of Lake Crescent.  Forty four years later, Beverly read about the discovery of the Warren wreck in the Lake, and contacted the dive team to see if they could locate Steele’s car and recover her suitcase from the trunk.

In 2004, the old dodge was located and Sherman’s suitcase full of memorabilia was recovered and returned to her.  Today, the Steele Dodge is located in 200 feet of cold, clear water, not far from the Warren Wreck, which sank in 1929.  The car sits on edge of a steep ravine, facing up the steep slope.  The vehicle is wedged in amongst some old trees and branches, which gives it a bit of an eerie look! 

 Locating the Steele Dodge is fairly straight forward. Simply drop in the water, descend straight down slope into the chute or ravine to about 190' and look to your right. The car sits on a slight hump on the hillside at 195 feet of depth.  The clear, cold waters of the lake make this a very pleasant dive.  I can't think of any other locations that you can still see blue water and visible light in 200 feet of clear blue water.

Diving the Warren Wreck requires a permit from the National Park Service, which may not be necessary when diving the Steele Dodge.  Be sure to get a permit if you plan to dive both wrecks.  Scootering from this wreck to the Warren Wreck is very popular, and works well, but they are too far apart to even consider a swim at these kind of depths.  

The depth of this old sedan is well beyond the limits of recreational diving, so be sure you have the appropriate training and experience before tackling this spectacular dive.   The impressive wall structures of the ravine are worth the dive, even if you didn't have an interesting wreck to look at.  Be safe and have a great dive on an interesting bit of Northwest History.   [ Map Location ]

 

Side view of the Steele Dodge.	The impressive walls lining the ravine on the way to the wreck.