A car hauled Monday out of the Black River near Hendrickson is tied to a 2017 crime, according to authorities. It is the third stolen vehicle recovered from the site in the past three years.
The Mazda CRX was reported stolen April 22, 2017, by Seth Parker of County Road 4651 in Poplar Bluff, an official with the Butler County Sheriff’s Department reports.
Missouri State Highway Patrol divers and Barker’s Towing helped recover the car Monday from the river, after it was reported to law enforcement May 13 by an area fisherman.
Eddies, currents circling counter to the main direction of the river, had carried the car at least 100 feet upstream of the Hendrickson boat ramp.
One diver, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained vehicles do not sink immediately when they hit the water and that likely let this one drift away from the ramp.
“Cars float — whenever someone drives them in, they’ll float for a certain amount of time,” he said.
Divers wrapped a chain around its front tire, despite visibility of approximately 1 foot but Barker’s Towing did the heavy lifting. They dredged the car up in stages, adjusting their position to work around the shoreline and submerged logs.
The time frame of the car’s disappearance was backed up by the extensive mud and algae on its exterior and the volume of muck in the cab, officials said.
“It’s been in there a while. Someone probably stole it and decided to get rid of it in the river. Looks like they wrecked it, got a joyride out of it,” said BCSD Chief Deputy Wes Popp.
Officials said the amount of time underwater and the amount of mud and silt in the vehicle would make it difficult to recover any additional evidence from it. The vehicle will be turned over to the owner’s insurance company for disposal, they said.
The vehicle was found by a local fisherman using fishing sonar on May 13. Since he frequently fishes the area, it was initially hypothesized the car was sunk recently. Instead, recent flooding may have uncovered or moved it enough to be detected with sonar, according to officials.