Recovery teams retrieve body from car submerged in LaHave River

Bridgewater police and RCMP divers have recovered a body from a car that plunged into the LaHave River near the former Port of Bridgewater, N.S., in the community's south end on Sunday.

Bridgewater and Northfield District fire departments, along with Bridgewater police, responded to a call Sunday morning about a vehicle in the river. 

Police say the car went into the river after driving off the wharf.

Deputy chief Danny MacPhee said a witness saw the vehicle floating with its rear hatch open. 

"So because the rear hatch was open, it was taking in water very rapidly. By the time they called us, the vehicle was basically submerged," he said.

Underwater recovery teams from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick arrived Tuesday to search the vehicle.

Divers recovered the body and the vehicle, with the help of a local tow company, on Tuesday afternoon. MacPhee said they were also able to confirm the licence plate number, which helped confirm the identity of the victim.

"The owner of the vehicle was a resident of our community. We did some inquiries here and that person was not in the area and nobody had contact with them, so we were fearful that he was in the vehicle when it entered the river. That was confirmed today by the RCMP dive team," MacPhee said on Tuesday. 

Macphee said it's not clear whether the driver of the vehicle died before or after the car entered the river. 

"That side of the river can get very deep, like 25 to 30 feet, depending on the tides," he said. 

The cause of the incident is under investigation. MacPhee said there were some tire marks in melting snow off the wharf and no collision that police are aware of. He said no one saw the car drive off the wharf.

"It's a very uncommon call. I've been here 23 years and I haven't had one similar to this," said MacPhee.

The body will be turned over to the Nova Scotia medical examiner for an autopsy.