STOLEN CAR RECOVERED FROM THE RIVER

A Pontiac Bonneville stolen in a carjacking last week was recovered Thursday under about 10 feet of water in the Mississippi River.

Shortly after 1 p.m., Cape Girardeau Police Cpl. Rick Price noticed a taillight protruding from the water about 20 feet away from the riverbank at Honkers Boat Dock while on patrol.

The make and model of the car didn't become clear until almost four hours later, after acting Cape Girardeau fire chief Mark Hasheider put on a wetsuit and dove into the river to connect a chain to the car's rear axle.

Most of the four hours was spent trying to find a scuba tank to dive into the 40 degree water and connect the chain. Although the fire department has five certified scuba divers, each firefighter utilizes his own equipment, said Tom Hinkebein, shift commander.

At first firefighters had tied the chain to the car from a 16-foot rescue boat. But when a tow truck attempted to pull the car out of the river, the chain broke.

The car was finally dragged out of the river shortly before 5 p.m. with a broken rear windshield and mud caked over its leather seats. A baby stroller was still in the trunk.

The car was initially reported stolen March 23, police said. A Cape Girardeau man told police he was sitting in his parked car near the intersection of Middle and Morgan Oak about 2:15 a.m. when he was approached by another man. The driver was asked if he would give the man a ride across the bridge, but the driver refused. Then the robber threatened the driver with a handgun. The driver got out of the car, the robber took the keys and drove off.

"Apparently he missed the bridge," Lt. Carl Kinnison said.

The car recovery was the first use of the fire department's newest watercraft. After searching for a missing man in the Mississippi last year with the Missouri State Water Patrol, the patrol donated a 16-foot john boat with a 70 horsepower outboard motor to the firefighters.

Since the boat was received in August, firefighters have been rewiring and outfitting it mostly with donated equipment.

"If we weren't out here today we would have been putting the decals on it," Hinkebein said.

Hinkebein estimates that about $1,200 of the city's money was spent to renovate the boat, which is now worth about $15,000.