Marion County law enforcement officials made an unexpected discovery while responding to a report of a Jeep Wrangler submerged in the Lake o’ the Pines in the eastern part of Texas. As they prepared to pull the SUV out, they noticed a woman trapped inside and still alive.
Posting on Facebook, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office explained a fisherman alerted authorities after spotting the Wrangler’s roof poking out of the water about 40 feet from the Woody’s Camp boat ramp located on the south side of the lake. Officers called a tow truck to pull the Jeep out of the water, and they noticed the woman as they prepared to bring it back to shore. Local fishermen helped rescue her.
The woman hasn’t been identified; all we know is that she was “safely rescued” from the Jeep (there’s no word on whether it’s her car) and transported to a local hospital. Officers quickly realized that the woman was reported missing to the Longview Police Department hours earlier. “We do not know how long the Jeep was in the water,” Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigator Captain Chuck Rogers told NPR.
Photos posted on social media by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office show two men pulling a woman into a jon boat next to a Wrangler that’s almost completely underwater; the third brake light is barely visible. The SUV is attached to a tow truck, presumably so it doesn’t sink. The investigation is ongoing, so details such as how the Jeep ended up in the lake and what the woman was doing inside of it aren’t available.
“There was nothing uncovered during the investigation to suggest this case was anything more than an accident,” Rogers told NPR.
As car enthusiasts, we can’t help but think this story could have had a grim ending if the Wrangler had been equipped with a soft top.
