Vehicle in Minnesota River: 1 found dead, 2 vehicles found during search

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities say one person has been found dead and a second vehicle has been spotted after the report of another vehicle that sunk into the Minnesota River in Bloomington on Sunday evening.

Crews were finally able to pull the vehicle from the waters on Tuesday, about 36 hours after it first went in.

Witnesses called 911 shortly before 8 p.m. on Sunday to report the vehicle that had entered the river at the Lyndale Avenue Boat Launch, just west of Interstate 35W along the Bloomington-Burnsville city border.

Rescue crews found the vehicle underwater using sonar, but dangerous currents prevented divers from entering the water.
 

Crews pulled the vehicle out of the water on Tuesday. But, as they were pulling out that vehicle, authorities say they found a second vehicle in the water.

"While searching for this vehicle using our sonar equipment, we also located another vehicle," explained Sheriff Dawanna Witt. "We are working to get that one out too."

The sheriff says they don't have a lot of information about the second vehicle. Recovery efforts are ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon. However, at this point, the sheriff believes the second vehicle is unrelated to the first.

"We finally got it hooked," said the sheriff of the second vehicle. "Now, we're working to get it out. It takes a lot of specialized equipment to do these recoveries."

As for the first vehicle, the circumstances that led up to the vehicle going into the water are unclear. Regardless, the sheriff says the conditions on the river are very dangerous.