On Monday, Sept. 26, at approximately 9:43 a.m. a subcontractor dive team for Lunda Construction Company was doing underwater surveying along the shoreline next to Ben Butterworth Parkway when workers found two vehicles submerged in the Mississippi River near the 55th Street boat ramp.
They notified the Moline Police Department, according to a Tuesday police release. One vehicle was identified as a Chevy pickup truck originally reported stolen in East Moline back in May 2013, police said, noting the other was a Chrysler sedan originally reported stolen in Moline in November 2006.
Both vehicles are believed to have been in the river for many years, based on the river silt and mud content, the release said. The Moline Police Department is still conducting an investigation with the assistance of the Big River Rescue and Recovery Dive Team.
Once the investigation is complete, the department will consult with the dive team and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the determination if the vehicles should be removed or left in the riverbed. No further information is available at this time.
Anyone with information about these cases from 2006 or 2013 may contact Crime Stoppers at 309-762-9500, or use the smartphone application P3 Tips.