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LASALLE COUNTY Ill. – How did it get there? Even with some answers, that remains the decade-long mystery of a Volvo car stranded on top of a tiny private island in Illinois.
It’s a phenomenon known to Google Maps as “Volvo Island.” Instagram posts have sparked renewed interest in Volvo Island in recent weeks.
The island emerges from a private, man-made lake that’s on the edge of Ottawa, Illinois, more specifically near the intersection of Illinois Route 71 and US Highway 6. It’s roughly 80 miles southwest of Chicago.
Google Maps shows the clearest photos you’ll find of the abandoned Volvo car just about anywhere. It appears tan or gray in nature, and the car doesn’t seem like it’s suffered extensive damage. That said, there’s nothing else around the island, and it appears there wouldn’t be room for much more around it.
According to a 2020 report from TheDrive.com, which cited information from The Times – Shaw Local newspaper publication, the car appears to be a 2001 Volvo S80 model. It sits on an artificial island. The lake surrounding the island has a depth of 40 feet in certain spots, which would make it seemingly difficult to drive or remove the car from its current location.
According to The Times, an Illinois resident named Scott Mann privately owns the island and the lake, in addition to two local car repair shops.
A close colleague, Tiffany Warren, told the Times that Mann originally placed the car in its current location and wanted people to guess how it got there through a contest. Eventually, he grew concerned that it would tempt people into the water and pose safety concerns.
Warren further informed The Times that the lake used to be a mine until it was flooded. At some point, when the island was still connected to land and part of a peninsula, Mann reportedly towed the car to its current location. Later on, the path that connected the car from one end of the peninsula to the other was excavated.
The peninsula vanished, the waterway became more refined, and it’s believed that the car has been in its current spot for at least 10 years. It’s unclear whether plans may materialize to move it or use it once again.
Google Reviews of Volvo Island praise the destination for its “strange spiritual presence,” also describing it as “breathtaking,” and “simply mind-blowing.”
WCIA 3’s sister station, FOX 2, was unable to reach Mann or Warren for comment at the time of this story’s publication.
