There are various variants of the LEGEND. All of the stories have one thing in common: a taxi broke through the ice in Larder Lake while travelling to a nearby mine during the winter, and ever since, people have been searching for it.
According to the account, the mine’s location varied among all the mines in the vicinity (Larder Lake) and descended as far as 100 feet below the surface. The 1929 Reo Flying Cloud taxi that sunk on Christmas 1937 is believed to be the vehicle. All five of the passengers were able to get away safely. It might have been anything from bootlegging to a Christmas party delivery. The taxi’s contents included gold, wine, live turkeys and whisky as well as paychecks loaded with bonuses.
Several boats were found and dove upon after 35 years of intensive searching. In the summer of 2023, a favourable image was recovered on a side imaging device situated in 50 feet of water. Although it was established that it was a vehicle, it was not yet clear if it was the taxi. There was a new rig constructed with underwater flood lights. Over the car, there was another drift. This verified that the vehicle was indeed the appropriate vintage. To confirm that it is the legendary taxi, all that is left to do is dive and get a positive identity.
The precise site hasn’t been made public until a dive has confirmed that it is the taxi, that no human remains are present, and that the cargo won’t lead treasure seekers to destroy this item.
Larder Lake
Located in the Timiskaming District of Northeastern Ontario, Canada, is a freshwater lake known as Larder Lake. The geographic McFadden Township and the incorporated (municipal) townships of Larder Lake and McGarry are divided by the lake. It is the source of the Larder River and a portion of the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin.
Originally called Lake Present, the prospectors who later constructed the Chesterville gold mine gave the lake its unofficial new name in 1906.
The settlements of Virginiatown and Kearns, which are both a part of municipal McGarry township, are situated at the northeast end of Northeast Arm, whereas the community of Larder Lake (in the township of the same name) is situated on the northwest side of Spoon Bay.
Larder Lake is surrounded by gold mines, notably Kerr-Addison Mine. Mine tailings have poisoned the lake. Deak Resources, a mining business, was fined $50,000 by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in 1992 for discharging toxic wastewater into the lake. Cyanide and heavy metals were among the pollutants. Larder Lake had “high concentrates” of nickel, gold, copper, lead, and zinc, according to a 1994 Environment Canada report.
The safe ice circulation period is typically from mid-December to mid-April, although the lake surface is typically frozen from mid-November to late April.