BMW found submerged in Connecticut River

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 fish out the fairly battered vehicle over the course of a several-some hour operation.

City and environmental police were summoned to the river mid-morning for a report of a inundated vehicle a short space 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 tools, which in turn hauled it onto a waiting flatbed. 

A small crowd gathers to watch the recovery. It’s wonderful, said former North Carolina resident Charles Brashear, a now a city resident. 

A similar incident occurred in April of 2012 when a stolen car was improved from the river. Emergency personnel, talking at the scene of that 2012 recovery, said it was likely that the car was dumped someplace up river and was carried down by the present.