Search resumes for car sunken in Mississippi River

Search boat
A boat with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office search the Mississippi below the University of Minnesota for a missing car seen going into the river on Sunday.
MPR Photo/Tim Nelson

By MPR News Staff

The Hennepin County water patrol will resume its search Monday for a car that sunk in the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

Heavy wind and rain, along with strong currents, hampered the search on Sunday, said Maj. Darrell Huggett of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.

He said a jogger called 911 just before 9 a.m. after seeing a vehicle in the water near the east bank side of the 10th Avenue bridge. The car floated several hundred yards downstream before a police officer saw it sink. A buoy was placed in the approximate place where the car went under.

Investigators are using side-scan sonar to search the river bottom because the current has been too swift for divers.

"If we do get a picture, we'll send a camera down to take a look and try to identify the vehicle and whether there's anyone inside, because we do not know that at this point," he said Sunday.

Police don't know if anyone was inside the vehicle. No missing persons reports were filed, Hugget said. Investigators are checking footage from security cameras in the area for additional clues.

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