A car sank into the waters of Rivière des Prairies early Tuesday morning in Montreal, but police say there was no one in the vehicle.
In a 15 minute plunge, divers from the tactical squad of the Montreal police department inspected the wrecked vehicle and did not recover a body.
Dispatching the team in frigid temperatures takes extra preparation, since the diver's vital signs need to be monitored before submerging.
Around midnight, police received numerous 911 calls from citizens indicating there was a vehicle surfacing in the water ten metres from the shore on near Notre-Dame-des-Anges Street, in Cartierville.
The vehicle, a Toyota Rav 4, sank shortly after the arrival of the Montreal Fire Department. Police say it was too risky to navigate the frigid waters overnight.
A Rav 4 was recently reported stolen in the Cote-des-Neiges borough earlier this week, and a Montreal police spokesperson said they believe the two events are linked.
It appears that someone attempted to remove or obscure the car's license plate before sinking it.
Witnesses will be questioned by police Tuesday morning.
Neighbour Richard Hanson said he saw the car parked nearby on Monday.
"When I came back at 2:00 a.m., I saw all the cops so I told them there was an SUV there in the afternoon. They said it's an SUV in the water," he said.
Hanson said it's not the first time a car has been dumped in the water.
"In October, there was a car on that side, in August... it's the third one this year," he said.
