Police Chase Leads To 'Suspicious' Convertible Ending Up In Lake Minnetonka
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities in the southwest metro say a convertible ended up in Lake Minnetonka Thursday night following a brief police chase.
The South Lake Minnetonka Police Department says the two people believed to be in the car made it out of the lake, although it was for a time unclear if the driver had escaped.
The chase that led to the car going into the metro's biggest lake started around 9:30 p.m., when South Lake Minnetonka officers got a call about a suspicious convertible and the sound of breaking glass in Tonka Bay.
A responding officer spotted a speeding convertible and tried to pull over the car with emergency lights on. The car sped off, heading toward Excelsior.
Not long after the officer lost sight of the convertible, there was a report of a car in the lake. An empty convertible was found partially submerged in the water, near the Port of Excelsior.
Police say they found a person nearby who identified himself as a passenger in the convertible. He allegedly said that the driver was last seen in the water, getting out of the vehicle.
Crews from several departments searched the waters for the driver, but found nothing. The search was switched to a recovery effort and suspended until daybreak.
On Friday, however, the recovery mission was called off after police say they received credible information that the driver got out of the water and was not in danger.
The incident remains under investigation.