WWII 'Ghost Boat' Mysteriously Appears In CA Lake

LAKE SHASTA, CA — The fairly intact remnants of a World War II boat emerged in a dried up California lake, revealed by the effects of the state's record drought conditions. Officials are trying to figure out how it wound up in the Golden State.

Dubbed as the "Ghost Boat," the remains of the Higgins Boat appeared in a dried portion of Shasta Lake, according to National Forest Service.

Bearing the markings '31-17,' the boat was one assigned to the Attack Transport USS Monrovia, which sailed the sea during the invasion of Sicily.

"The circumstance of its sinking remains a mystery," officials from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest tweeted.

The nation's 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of the USS Monrovia's passengers during World War II.

"Eisenhower also was on this ship at that time, and it went on to a further 6 D-Day invasions in the Pacific. Reportedly it was used in the invasion of Tarawa. It names the crew and states that it sank in shallow water during that invasion (later salvaged)," NWS officials wrote on Facebook.

Authorities are still puzzled as to how the Higgins boat traveled from the battles around Europe to the bottom of Lake Shasta in Northern California. The boat will be sent to a museum in Nebraska to be restored and studied, officials said.

"This boat is referred to as 'The Ghost Boat.' It really is quite remarkable how it emerged from the lake with so many stories to tell," NWS officials said. "Any 'restoration' will be done to preserve as much of the integrity of the boat as possible and will hopefully preserve it in a weathered 'combat fatigue' look, and that is how it is intended to be displayed at a museum in Nebraska.

"There is more to discover of its history and obviously its time on Shasta Lake"