The Search For the 1977 Kawasaki "Shark" SnoPro Sleds.

Part 3: The Burial Grounds.

By Larry Preston

The letter from Lee Markgraf to Scott County, outlining his efforts to clean up the previously buried sleds.	Receipt totaling $1,991.75 for the excavation of the Kawasaki SnoPro sleds.	Receipt of 50 yards of debris from the Louisville Landfill, near Shakopee MN.

Peter Schmidt of the the Scott County (Minnesota) Environmental Health Agency faxed me the total report he had on file about the incident. They tell the tale of what happened to these historically interesting sleds.

The story goes like this: Lee Markgraf of Kawasaki industries was notified by Scott County that the current owners of Kawasaki's old Research and Development facility, The Conklin Company, had heard a rumor that they (Kawasaki) had buried snowmobiles there.

Kawasaki executives and their lawyers decided that the best way to deal with it was to just admit it, dig them up and dispose of them properly. Scott County was to monitor the progress and removal, and make sure no hazardous materials was left behind. According to Peter, they first checked with metal detectors and marked the property. They then brought in the backhoes to begin digging.

This is the text of a hand written notes from the Scott County official on the scene the day of the dig, whose name is not on the slip:

"10-26-88. Pete visited the site with Lee Markgraf and Dave from Turner excavating. Complete and incomplete snowmobiles found in one small location - no oil or gas smell in tanks of vehicles, (verified by Pete, Dave & guy from Braun engineering before). Ten other holes dug around this hole - no evidence of previously disturbed soil - or of any solid waste."

Markgraf then sent a letter back to Scott County with the receipt from Turner Excavation for $1,991.75, and a receipt from the Louisville Landfill. Kawasaki had done the right thing and cleaned up their mess. Mr. Schmidt completed a report and mailed a copy back to Kawasaki. Case closed. But note that the report says complete and incomplete snowmobiles. Could this mean that an in tact Shark was sitting in a landfill here in Minnesota?

Letter from Scotty County to Lee Markgraf with a total report that clears up Kawasaki from any further responsibility.

I asked Mr. Schmidt if it was okay if I were to review the file in person. He agreed, and met with me at 8:00 the following morning. Peter was very good about telling me everything he could remember about the disposal of the sleds. "We were concerned about gas having been dumped there. We didn't know about the snowmobiles until they were dug up. I just sniffed them, literally, for gas fumes, but found none. They were hauled off to the Louisville landfill, we signed off on it, and that was that".

So they Kawasaki SnoPro sleds were in the Louisville landfill? Images of the landfill owner having the sleds, or the sled parts in his garage, must have made me appear to Mr. Schmidt as a deaf, dumb & mute. "Is that landfill near here?" I grabbed my pen in anticipation of my next stop. "It's just a mile or two away, but now it's called Demcon." No need for directions, I'll just call Directory Assistance after I leave, I thought. I put the pen back in my pocket.

"Do you remember seeing any hoods - particularly any green hoods?" I asked. "Mmm. Not really, I just took pictures of the holes and smelled for gas - there are pictures." He walked off in search of the file.

Pictures! Bingo! Jackpot! KA-CHING! If I couldn't find the sleds, pictures would work nicely to prove once and for all that the sleds were here. The madness could end. Peter returned in just a moment with a packet of slides. He handed them to me, and I put them up to the light eagerly awaiting the first view of the Sharks since 1988.

"I remember seeing yellow hoods. I don't recall anything green". Peter added. What's the chance that a green hood, after being buried for nearly 10 years turns yellowish after time I thought. I couldn't see anything in the slides but some bits of parts mixed in with dirt. No clear shots of a sled at all. I asked if he would allow me to borrow the slides, long enough to have them printed as regular shots that I could see better.

"They are public property, but it's not customary to let people check them out". He said. I did my best sad puppy face. "How fast can you have them back?" He added. "About two seconds after I get them back from the photo place". "All right then." I shook his hand with a smile and headed back to my office, some 20 minutes from Scott County.

On the way back, I put in a message at the Demcon dump. I asked for someone named Dave that had worked their since it was called the Louisville Landfill. Yes, there was a Dave like that still working there, but he was not available, could I get your number and have him call you back. I gave her the number, we exchanged some Minnesota Nice chat, and I closed the cell phone shut. Damn. They might well be in the dump. There's still a chance I could find enough of them to restore one or more of them. But the pictures were puzzling. I couldn't see much, but what I could see in no way resembled the Sharks. I had to get them developed from the slides and blown up. Fast. I dropped them off on the way back to my office for 1 hour development.

My quest was nearing an end, I could feel it. I will have solved the mystery. The blown up photos would reveal all. They were at the Demcon landfill. I'm not afraid of no rats. I would spend the next few weekends looking for them at the dump. I would find the elusive Sharks.

I went back to my office and did my very best to pretend to be working for exactly one hour. I was pretty proud of myself thinking I may really have found them. Victory was mine!

I would soon discover I had indeed achieved victory, but in the wrong battle.

Part 4: Burial Pictures and Four Feet of Clay.