The BMW SUV was reported stolen from Worcester in February and recovered Monday from the Connecticut River at Riverfront Park, had little inside save for mud, police said.
Updates a story posted Monday at 12:15 p.m.
SPRINGFIELD — A BMW X3, reported stolen from Worcester in February and recovered Monday from the Connecticut River at Riverfront Park, had little inside save for mud, police said.
That and a couple of salamanders, according to a worker from Red’s Towing in West Springfield, which fished out the somewhat battered vehicle over the course of a several-hour operation.
City and environmental police were summoned to the river mid-morning for a report of a submerged vehicle a short distance away from the park steps that lead down to the water.
A pair of environmental police divers used large air bags to get the SUV within reach of Red’s heavy equipment, which in turn hauled it onto a waiting flatbed. All the windows were missing.
A small crowd gathered to watch the recovery. “It’s amazing,” said former North Carolina resident Charles Brashear, a now a city resident. “It’s the first time I have ever seen a recovery like this.”
A similar incident occurred in April of 2012 when a stolen car was recovered from the river. Emergency personnel, speaking at the scene of that 2012 recovery, said it was likely that the car was dumped somewhere up river and was carried down by the current.
