Car pulled out of Fox River

GREEN BAY - An investigation is underway to try to solve the underwater mystery that came from the Fox River earlier Tuesday.

Tuesday morning, Green Bay police dive crews recovered a submerged car.

• Photos: Car found in Fox River

Police say it's an older four-door Plymouth with Minnesota license plates.

Clearly in the condition the car's in, covered with zebra mussels, it'd been in the water a long time.

Crews doing the cleanup of the Fox River spotted the vehicle between Walnut and Main streets with sonar equipment last Friday.

But solving the mystery, according to authorities, could take some time.

"I just had to come and see it. It's not everyday they pull a 10 to 30-year-old vehicle out of the river," said Eric Gabrielson of Green Bay.

"This is really crazy! And we walk by here all the time," said onlooker Renee Lepak.

Police retrieved the mud-filled car after a day of diving in the Fox River. The team used airbags to lift the car off the bottom. It was in 19 feet of water.

Police believe the car possibly backed in to the river, based on its position in the water. The car was missing its windshield.

Once at the surface, the vehicle was towed to the Metro Boat Launch down river.

"I don't know," responded Green Bay Police Lt. Kevin Warych when asked if anyone was inside the car.

At this point, there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

That's why authorities took the vehicle to an evidence facility to begin the investigation.

"A vehicle doesn't just appear in the river. This is rare and it's very interesting to say the least," Warych said.

Police say it won't be an easy task.

"They have to slowly, meticulously work through each part of the vehicle," Warych explained. "One, to determine if there's any foul play in the front of the vehicle to the back of the vehicle, and then go through the inside to see if they can find any evidence to give them some leads."

Warych says the police department has been in touch with Minnesota authorities to try to figure out who owned the vehicle.

"If the vehicle is from out of state, it may assist another jurisdiction in some crime that's been cold for many years," Warych said.

Authorities would not comment on the status of any cold cases in the area.

At this point, police don't know the exact year of the car.

However, they do believe it went into the river before the nearby bank building and CityDeck were built.