Cincinnati — For the first time in history, cars were pulled out of the Ohio River en masse.
The Hamilton County Police Association Underwater Search and Recovery Unit is partnering with the nonprofit Living Lands and Waters for the largest cleanup effort to date.
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything of this scale before,” said CPD interim chief Lieutenant Colonel Teresa Theetge. “One of them might look like a 1940’s/1950’s car. It doesn’t mean they’ve been there since, but they’ve probably been there for a while. “
Have you ever been on a barge? How about one dedicated to pulling crap out of the water? The Hamilton County Diving Team is partnering with river cleanup efforts to recover submerged cars and restore Ohio. In four days they have drawn ten.In addition 7 @WCPO pic.twitter.com/H0PK9ZJU1y
— Valerie Lyons (@VLyonsTV) October 25, 2022
Over the past month, HCPA diving teams have used new sonar technology to scan the river.
It helped divers identify and tag vehicles, but without the necessary equipment and machinery, they could not be fished out.
So they partnered with Living Lands and Waters to do the hard work.
“[They were] Working and labeling little buoys here and there, then coming into town with an excavator and work here, moving with the dive team with the dive team, to the car to be picked up by the excavator. marked. ” said Callie Schaser, her specialist in nonprofit communications.
Their efforts are paying off.
Hamilton County has 26 miles of coastline and 10 cars were pulled from the river in just four days.
A total of 14 were previously confirmed by divers, with more resurfacing in the coming days.
But while the crew has been working to save and restore the river for a week, the week-long effort that began last Friday isn’t just about clearing debris.
The crew hopes that the sunken metal may reveal a treasure trove of evidence.
“Even digging a car out of the bottom of a river will do whatever it takes to solve a crime,” said Theetge.
Chris Fritsch, commander of the HCPA Dive Team, said his unit’s primary goal was to aid criminal investigations, and some of the recovered vehicles were used for unsolved cases, missing persons and missing persons. He also said he hopes it will be a clue to the undiscovered vehicle that was stolen.
Some of these cars have been in the ocean for 30, 40, 50 years, making it very difficult to identify and figure out why they were in the ocean for that long. ‘ said Fritsch. Look up your VIN number, look up your vehicle, and get a better view from the water. “
The operation will end on Friday, but the recovery operation from the river will continue, Hristoti said.
“It covers 160 feet from the bank towards the center of the river,” he said. So this is an ongoing project and we have to work to get it all covered.”
