16 mysteries and crimes that were solved using Google maps (18 photos)
The Google Maps service has helped uncover more than one mystery that was shrouded in darkness, from funny cases (a wife set her husband on fire while smoking outside the house) to real crimes when the police were able to find the criminals. Everything secret can suddenly become apparent. 
1. After successfully escaping from prison, Gioachino Gammino lived undetected for 20 years. Until he spoke in the wrong place 
The convicted murderer, considered one of Italy's most wanted criminals, worked as a cook under a different name in the town of Galapagar (near Madrid in Spain). Google Maps images showed a man who looked suspiciously like Gammino chatting outside a fruit and vegetable store, and police later confirmed it was him.
2. 40-year-old William Moldt went missing and could not be found for 20 years until his car was discovered in satellite images 
William Moldt went missing on November 7, 1997 from Lantana, Florida. The car containing his body was found in 2019 in Moon Bay Circle, Wellington. The car appears to have been visible on Google Earth satellite photography of the area since 2007, but was not spotted until 2019. He was eventually noticed by a real estate appraiser.
3. An overhead view of another lake revealed another car - it contained David Lee Niles, who went missing nine years ago. 
The car has been listed as missing since 2006. In 2015, mortuary workers who wanted to decorate the building for Christmas found an aerial photograph. The area appears to be now called David Lee Niles Memorial Park. 
4. People suspected that this photo was an accidental death or the result of a road accident, until the girl who participated in the shooting revealed the truth 
She's actually fine - she said herself that she had no idea about the Google machine: "I fell while playing with a friend and thought it would be funny to pretend to be dead."
5. A teenager from Groningen (Holland) had his bike, phone and money stolen and was disappointed with the police response to the problem. 
And now, six months later, he looked through the records on Google Maps and found photographic evidence of the theft, showing the thieves and the stolen bicycle. With this information, the 14-year-old helped authorities apprehend the suspects.
6. Several cannabis farms were discovered using aerial photographs. 
For example, an Oregon farmer who was caught growing three times the maximum limit of marijuana in 2013; in 2009, Swiss authorities discovered a 7,500 square meter marijuana farm in the middle of a corn field.
7. Do you think there might be a body in the trunk of this truck? Those who saw this picture on Google Maps thought so too. 
Does he sunbathe? He is dead? Unclear. In the end, it turned out that it was actually just Oscar, a US Coast Guard search and rescue dummy.
8. Two burglars broke into a home in Oklahoma City under horrific circumstances. The police had no leads until the victim's friend found a photo of the street in front of the house on Google Maps. 
The footage was discovered three years after the robbery, in 2014, and shows the perpetrators.
9. In Italy, with the help of Google Maps, a man was exposed who was trying to deceive the tax authorities. 
The man told the authorities that he sold his house for 280,000 euros, but Italian tax authorities thought that this was not entirely true. They then checked a picture of the property's signature swimming pool to find a building whose location and size allowed them to determine that the reported sale price was in error. It turned out that he underestimated the amount by seven million euros.
10. It's not a crime - but Donald Riding was caught breaking a promise to his wife, and his sin was left on Google Maps for everyone to see. 
Donald promised his wife to quit smoking, but was spotted puffing on a cigarette in his driveway thanks to a passing Google car. “I couldn’t believe it - but now that we saw him smoking, it was impossible to deny it. When Street View first launched, they didn't blur faces, but in his case there was no need for it - he was still hidden by a cloud of smoke, says his wife.
11. A certain David Sloans had his car stolen in the UK. The police didn't have a single lead 
The Google car passed by at the right time and captured a fairly clear image of the alleged thief, which helped the cops quickly close the case. PC Adrian Mason said: “It is amazing that we have such a clear image of this man. It was an amazing coincidence that a Google car drove by."
12. Many owners of unregistered swimming pools were found in Athens 
In the Greek city of Athens, those who have swimming pools must pay a special tax for them. The suburbs of Athens were claimed to have 324 swimming pools, but after examining Google Maps, authorities found that there were actually 16,974 swimming pools in the area.
13. Two Edinburgh men appear to have been involved in an ax murder - the image was so disturbing that a local resident called the police 
But during the investigation it turned out that it was a hoax. The police officer involved in the investigation knew one of the mechanics involved in the prank, which made it easier to clarify the circumstances.
14. A Florida man illegally abandoned his boat near his home and could end up facing a $5,000 fine. 
If he had paid for a legal dump, his cost would have been only $18. Police discovered the illegal dump using Google Maps.
15. After studying satellite images, it was determined that an Oxford resident had stolen more than 500 bicycles 
The crime was spotted on Google Earth because the resulting pile of bicycles was large enough to be seen on satellite. Wow.
16. The murderer of two people, Leslie Todd Parvin, was caught thanks to Google Maps photos of his van. 
Following an argument, Parveen allegedly killed two people. Police were unable to trace him but knew he had driven away in a green Kia minivan. Then they checked the address he was associated with: “When we Googled his address, the car was in the picture on Google Maps,” police say. “Once things got going, everything fell into place.”
