VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It's been more than two days since a car drove off the end of a fishing pier at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
Video shared with News 3 from early Saturday showed the vehicle drive down the pier and pause briefly before going over the edge. Those filming the incident can be heard gasping.
Virginia Beach
Conditions 'not permissible' to recover car that drove off VB pier
The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, a tourist destination, is located between 14th and 15th streets on the boardwalk.
On Sunday, a crew from Crofton Industries hired by Virginia Beach Police attempted to retrieve the vehicle from the ocean — which local fishermen estimated to be about 15 feet deep — but conditions were not favorable.
Police released a sonar image of the vehicle on Monday, saying that the car is on its roof at the end of the pier.
The brown streaks in the bottom left of the image are remnants of the pier that are in the water. The larger brown mark in the image is the vehicle.
Sergeant Brian Ricardo with the Special Operations Bureau of the Virginia Beach Police Department says the car is on its roof, leaning towards the beach.
The position of the car and the recent water conditions have also made it difficult to recover and unsafe.
"The car is unstable," explained Sgt. Ricardo. "The fear for us is not that it will drift but that one of the divers will get entangled in the car."
Since the video of the car's plunge into the ocean went viral, some people are wondering why the body hasn't been removed. Sgt. Ricardo said there is a reason.
"Generally, because it is a crime scene, we want to leave it encapsulated as best we can because if we open up that portal to the ocean, we're going to lose evidence," explained Ricardo.
Special operations are waiting on the OK to dive again from Crofton Industries.
The next attempt could be either this Thursday or Friday.
Recovery will become essential to understanding what led to this incident.
As of Monday morning, police have not confirmed the type of car, nor any potential occupants at the time it hit the water.
Virginia Beach police officer Jude Brenya spoke with News 3 Sunday.
"We do know where the vehicle is at," said Brenya. "It's still stationary in the last location that we checked, so we are going to keep monitoring it. We are going to go back [to] the planning board and try to see when we can come back out."
As the recovery efforts continue, the community remains in shock following the incident. Employees at Oceanfront businesses were stunned Saturday morning when they came to work to hear what had happened.
"Never heard of anything like this in all my seven years," said Charlotte Murphy, who works at Ocean Eddie's on the boardwalk. "Definitely the craziest thing that I've heard, for sure."
News 3 will continue to follow this story and update you on air and online.
If you or someone you know is suicidal or in emotional distress, we encourage you to use the following resources.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
You can call or text 988 if you’re in a suicidal crisis or emotional distress. It’s a national network of local crisis centers that provide free and confidential support. They are available to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can learn more at 988lifeline.org.
Findtreatment.gov
Findtreatment.gov is a confidential and anonymous resource for locating treatment facilities for mental and substance use disorders in the United States and its territories. Visit https://findtreatment.gov/locator to locate treatment options near you.
National Alliance on Mental Illness Helpline
The NAMI HelpLine is a free, nationwide peer-supported service providing information, resource referrals and support to people living with a mental health condition. You can text “HelpLine” to 62640 or call 800-950-6264. Learn more about additional resources at www.nami.org/help.
Open Path Psychotherapy Collective
The Open Path Psychotherapy Collective is a nationwide network of mental health professionals who offer virtual and in-office sessions at a steeply reduced rate to people who qualify. You can learn more at www.openpathcollective.org.
