Crews pull 2 vehicles from Minnesota River in Bloomington, 1 dead
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — One person is dead after two cars were found in the Minnesota River on Sunday night.
Shortly before 8 p.m., multiple agencies responded to a report of a vehicle entering the river just east of the Interstate 35W bridge in Bloomington, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities say bystanders observed an occupied vehicle enter the water on the Lyndale Avenue Boat Launch before becoming fully submerged.
Crews searched until 10:30 p.m. on Sunday and resumed the search on Monday. Another car was found in the river, close to the one that bystanders saw on Monday.
Due to high water and strong current, the sheriff's office says divers could not be safely used.
"Right now, the waters are dangerous. We have very high amount of water, the current is really fast," said Sheriff Dawanna Witt.
The sheriff's office water patrol unit was able to locate the cars using sonar.
At 10:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, a commercial salvage diving company was able to hook the vehicle and it was successfully pulled from water that was about 24 feet deep and 500 feet from the landing.
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office does confirm that one person was found inside the car.
While using sonar to locate the first car, authorities found a second car in the water nearby. At 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, crews were able to pull that car from the river. The sheriff's office says that it had been in the river for some time, and they are investigating. Witt said that officials weren't sure if the cars were related in any way.
"Right now, the waters are dangerous. So make sure if you're on the water, wear your life vest, that's something that needs to happen," she said.
The identity of the person in the car will be released at a later date by the medical examiner's office.