The OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit have recovered the body of a 47-year-old woman from a vehicle submerged in the Port Stanley Harbour.
With help from police divers, Ross Towing and Transportation then successfully pulled the car — a silver coloured PT cruiser — from the water at roughly 6 p.m. Wednesday evening. Its front bumper was smashed, and the rear bumper covered in sludge.
The woman’s family attended the scene, alongside Elgin County Victim Services.
Elgin County OPP Const. Adam Crewdson says police first arrived on the scene Tuesday evening around 7:10 p.m. to reports that a vehicle had gone in the water.
“A witness on the west side of the pier, they heard a revving of the engine, and then they heard a crashing sound, and then a splash sound. When they did approach, they did see some lights to what appeared to be a vehicle.”
Crewdson says OPP, EMS and Elgin Central volunteer firefighters all responded to the call.
“They did put a boat in the water in order to… locate if there was actually something in the area where the suspected vehicle had entered the harbour. They were able to locate — with essentially a fish finder — that there was a mark in the area, and they marked it with floating a buoy, for later on today.”
Crewdson says an autopsy has been scheduled, and their investigation is ongoing.