I had my first search and rescue case a few nights ago. We were underway and had moored up for the evening in a small town on the river bank. The man on duty had seen two males in their mid 20s walking around a vehicle at the top of the public boat ramp earlier but didn't think much of it. At about 10:30 pm he was up in the pilot house when he heard a few firecracker/gunshot like popping sounds. He looked out the window and saw a car come careening down the boat ramp at about 30mph and smash into the river. He immediately informed Master Chief then called 911. I was in bed at the time and awoke to hear an alarm going off and Master Chief's voice over the PA saying, "Now for the information of all hands, we have a report of a car rolling into the river! I repeat, there is a car in the water. All hands act!" I jumped up, threw threw some clothes on and ran out there. I arrived on scene about a minute after it happened and the car was fully submerged in 10 feet of water. We didn't know if there was anyone inside or not but Master Chief didn't want anyone to go in the water because of the strong current, thick muddy bottom, and 10 foot alligator we had seen a few hours earlier. No one wanted to say it but based on what the guy on duty had seen and heard we all had the same unfortunate thought. A gangstyle hit where they shot someone, threw them in the car and pushed it into the river. We could see bubbles periodically rising from the same spot and assumed that was where the car was sitting. We launched one of our small boats and located the vehicle 30-40 yards off the bank and four feet below the surface. Within 2-3 minutes the local Police, Sheriff's, EMS, and Fire departments were on scene. Unfortunately because our cutter's mission is Aids the Navigation (ATON) rather than Search and Rescue (SAR) we aren't really equipped for situations like this. The nearest dive team was about 20 minutes away so we were going to have to wait. At about seven minutes into it an unlabeled drink bottle floated to the surface. We all hoped it was non-alcoholic. After several minutes the bubbles stopped and my heart sank as I came to the conclusion that if someone was inside, we were probably looking at a recovery rather than a rescue. 25 minutes later the dive team finally arrived. After getting suited up they entered the water. Because of the darkness and murky water they couldn't see anything but after feeling around they didn't believe there was anyone inside. A tow truck arrived and the divers got a tow cable attached to the vehicle. The tow truck started pulling and as it cleared the water we could see there was no one in the front. I was pretty happy until I noticed a pair of babies shoes hanging from the mirror and a car seat lying upside down in the back seat. My heart sank again, but thankfully when we turned the car seat over, no one was inside. After the vehicle was out of the water we used a crow bar and fire axe to pop the trunk and check for casualties and once again no one was inside. When we examined the vehicle we found it in neutral with the parking brake off. All four side windows were rolled down, the rear window was smashed, and someone had taken a key and scratched some pretty profane names into the paint in several different places. I haven't heard the official report yet but it seems to me it was one of two things. Either a few people got in an argument and one of them was mad enough to push the other person's vehicle into the river, or it was some kind of insurance scam. Unfortunately for the guy who did it, we just happened to see him do it. Looking back on it, I am having a hard time not second guessing my decision to not jump and check for survivors. Because no on was inside though I guess I did the right thing by following Master Chief's orders. It was a crazy experience and I was just glad no one was inside!
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