'Stolen' vehicle found underwater in Port Douglas Reef Marina
Stolen car salvaged from Reef Marina
Published Tuesday May 5 2015, 5:15pm
The car located in the water at the Reef Marina Tuesday has been recovered today. The SUV is on Council land adjacent the Port Douglas Yacht Club.
Barnacles on the car indicate that the vehicle was in the water for some time. Possessions were still in the centre consol of the car.
Detail on how the SUV came to be in its watery grave are yet to be confirmed.
More from Newsport next week.
A vehicle believed to be stolen from Mossman at the beginning of March has been found at the bottom of Port Douglas’s Reef Marina.
The vehicle, which is believed to be an SUV, is resting upside down about 15 metres from the shoreline in the southern corner of the marina, far from any berthed vessels.
The rear wheels and undercarriage re visible at low tide.
Workers on the expansion of the Reef Marina noticed the sunken vehicle on Friday.
Barge foreman Daryl Richards spotted it while he and his crew were shifting a floating pontoon.
“At first we thought it was just a concrete block but as we got closer we saw it had wheels and suspension.
"It's not something you see every day, that's for sure."
The Jetty Specialist crew informed Reef Marina management, who were just as surprised and informed Port Douglas police officers.
Port Douglas senior sergeant Damian Meadows said police suspect the vehicle is a while Subaru Outback stolen from Mossman in early March.
“Most likely it has been stolen, taken for a joyride and then dumped in there,” Sgt Meadow said.
“I think it’s fairly safe to say that it was dumped under cover of darkness as it’d be pretty likely that there would be witnesses to something like this happening during the day.”
Police are investigating and reviewing CCTV footage of the area.
“It is early on and we’re not in a position to rule anything out,” Sgt Meadows said.
