Suspected car thief who plunged vehicle into area water found drowned

The buoy marks the spot where the car went into the water.



SEATTLE -- The body of a suspected car thief who drove a stolen car into Salmon Bay late Wednesday has been found, Seattle police said.

Officers recovered a man's body in the water near the 1000 block of West Ewing Street around 11:45 a.m., Seattle police said, near where they last saw the suspected car thief.

The suspect was presumed drowned after police received reports of a cloud of dust near 12th Avenue West and Nickerson Street late last night. Officers called to the scene said it appeared the driver smashed through a metal gate and plunged the 4-door Nissan Sentra sedan he was driving into the water.

He was later spotted in the water by police, officers said, but refused to grab onto a rope thrown to him. He then went underwater and was not seen again.

Divers performed a grid search to look for anyone for more than an hour, police said, but couldn't find the person.

The King County Medical Examiner with take custody of the body and identify it soon.