Stolen car drifting in Willamette River to be towed Friday
A stolen car has wound up in the Willamette River.
There is little to no information available about how the car ended up drifting in sight of people enjoying walks through Minto-Brown Island Park beyond that it is there, it was stolen and it will be removed Friday.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is planning to assist a towing company in removing the car Friday, according to Addison Allemann, a communications coordinator with the sheriff’s office. A marine patrol deputy will be on a boat at the scene to assist as needed, she said.
The car has prompted lots of calls and reports to law enforcement, according to Salem police spokesman Sgt. Jon Hardy.
The silver car was reported stolen in Salem and is assumed to have been in the river for several days, Hardy said.
As of late afternoon Wednesday, June 17, local law enforcement agencies were unsure of how a car theft led to an abandoned vehicle awaiting rescue in the Willamette.
But, Bill Faulkner, one of many who spotted the car, photographed it while on a walk through Minto-Brown on Wednesday morning. He took the pictures on a trail north of parking lot #3. He shared them with Salem Reporter with permission to publish them.
In photos, the car can be seen floating in the center of the river near an islet, with its trunk open and several windows down.
Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].
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Madeleine Moore joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and reports on a variety of topics including public safety, addiction, treatment and the criminal justice system. She came to Salem after graduating from the University of Oregon in June 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
