This is one fish story where the quarry that didn’t get away.
A fisherman called 911 Monday after finding something suspicious on his sonar in the Cape Fear River near Riegelwood. The fisherman spotted what he thought was a vehicle in 19 feet of water, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office dive team, Wildlife Resources Commission and divers from Acme-Delco-Riegelwood worked for more than ten hours Monday to recover the 1980s Ford Mustang from the Cape Fear River.
The burned-out car had been in the water for several years, investigators said. Southern Tire and Muffler pulled the vehicle from the river.
Rescue personnel said the initial call about the car indicated there had been a drowning in the area, but no evidence of a drowning was discovered.
The car had a personalized license plate still attached, the sheriff’s office said, but it had apparently been in the river long enough that the tag was dropped from state vehicle records.
Sheriff Jody Greene noted that the divers worked for hours in strong currents and near-zero visibility in the river. The car was also jammed into the bed of the river, and had to be partially freed before the wrecker could pulled the vehicle out.
