"We do not know how long the Jeep was in the water," an official said.
A missing woman was found alive after she was pulled out from a Jeep in a Texas lake following an alert by a nearby fisherman who spotted it. The vehicle was almost completely submerged in a lake.
Marion County Sheriff's Office claimed that the unidentified woman went missing from Longview and was found inside the black car in Lake o' the Pines on Friday, April 7. The vehicle was far from shore, about 40 feet out in the water from Woody's Camp Boat Ramp.
"As the jeep was being prepared for removal from the water, it was discovered a person was still in the vehicle and moving," they explained on Facebook. They managed to rescue the woman with "the assistance of the wrecker service, fisherman, and Marion County deputies. EMS responded to the location and transported the female to a local hospital. During the incident, it was determined the woman was listed as a missing person from the Longview Texas Police Department."
Police also shared a photo where two men can be seen pulling a woman into a boat while the roof of the vehicle can be seen just above the waterline next to them.
Missing Texas woman found alive inside submerged vehicle https://t.co/aSYayMfWYl
— WXII 12 News (@WXII) April 11, 2023
"We do not know how long the Jeep was in the water," Capt. Chuck Rogers, an investigator at the Marion County Sheriff's Office, told NPR. There are many questions that remain unanswered about the strange case, according to the official.
The good samaritan who called the authorities stuck around, and his boat was used to help a tow-truck worker get out to the Jeep and hook up a tow cable, Rogers said. Rescuers had no clue anyone was inside the Jeep. "It was at that time they saw the woman" inside the vehicle, the captain added.
Emergency services began removing the car from Lake O' the Pines in Texas when they saw a woman inside who was alive and moving https://t.co/u2zBnVnWBA
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 12, 2023
The woman was reported missing hours earlier before she was discovered. After the rescue, she was taken to a local hospital, and authorities determined that she had been listed as a missing person by the Longview Police Department. Her current condition and identity remain unknown. "Given the details of this case, we are unable to release any information at this time," said Melissa Dobbs, records administrator at the Longview Police Department.
Currently, officials do not suspect any foul play regarding the incident. The Jeep might have accidentally rolled into the lake as the boat ramp it apparently used to drive into the lake sits after a slight curve from a long and roughly straight rural road. "There was nothing uncovered during the investigation to suggest this case was anything more than an accident," Rogers said.
References:
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/11/1169209369/jeep-lake-woman-alive-rescue-texas
https://www.facebook.com/co.marion.tx.us
Cover Image Source: Facebook | Marion County Sheriff's Office