Rescue crews inspect car submerged near Saltillo boat ramp

UPDATE: This vehicle was originally discovered by a civilian fishing boat using a sonar sensor.

Authorities on-site say the vehicle was determined to have been there for 20+ years after a thorough search today led by the Hardin County Fire Department Special Operations Division Dive Team, with some extra assistance from THP and the TWRA.

“This here we’ve confirmed is not the missing vehicle – there’s nobody in the vehicle,” said Melvin Martin, Hardin County Fire Chief. “At a later date we’ll come back and recover the vehicle. It’s buried, half-buried in the mud, so it’s going to be a pretty extensive recovery, but we do want to get it out sometime.”

SALTILLO, Tenn. — Law enforcement and first responders gathered in Saltillo Wednesday morning.

Around 11 a.m., a WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Tipster informed us of a heavy police presence near the boat ramp in Saltillo.

Additionally, the City of Saltillo Fire Department shared to social media of a possible vehicle in water at the end of the Saltillo boat ramp.

The boat ramp, which extends from the town’s Main Street directly into the Tennessee River, has been the site of several water rescues/fatalities over the years, including the incidents listed below:

• Suspect dead after police pursuit ends at Tennessee River (8/21/24)
• Search for missing driver in Tennessee River ends Friday morning (11/24/23)
• Hardin Co. fire chief talks about man’s death in TN River (2/27/23)
• Bodies of two west Tennessee men found in Tennessee River (9/2/17)

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