A search for victims is underway after authorities on Saturday discovered a vehicle in the Passaic River near a Wallington home.
WALLINGTON -- A search for victims is underway after authorities on Saturday afternoon discovered a vehicle submerged in the Passaic River near a Wallington business.
Police are currently unsure when the accident that left the car in the river took place, or whether anyone that may have been involved in it was hurt, said Kim Lucas, Captain of Wallington Police Department.
Several police units, including a dive team, have been deployed to search the river for victims, Lucas said.
The search was initiated Saturday afternoon, after a local resident called the Wallington Police Department to report damage to the fence surrounding his business in the 100 block of Midland Avenue, Lucas said.
http://www.nj.com/passaic-county/index.ssf/2016/01/cops_searching_for_missing_passaic_woman.html
Responding officers noticed debris near the home, and then later called the fire department for assistance, Lucas said.
Investigators eventually discovered the vehicle in the river, but due to the murkiness of the water are unable to determine the car's make or model, or say whether anyone was inside when it went into the river, Lucas said.
Police are looking into the possibility that the crash involved a Devorah Stubin, a 22-year-old Passaic woman reported missing on Friday, Lucas added.
A man who identified himself as relative of Stubin's arrived at the scene of the search Saturday evening. The man told NJ Advance Media that he and other members of Stubin's family had come to see if she might be involved in the crash. He declined additional comment.
Josef Margaretten, coordinator Chaverim of Rockland County, the group which had been assisting authorities with the search for Stubin, confirmed Saturday evening that the search has been called off.
According to Margarett, authorities have matched the license place of the car found in the river to Stubin's.
"We thought the outcome would be better, but we're happy that we found something," he told NJ Advance Media.
Several units from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, Wallington Fire Department and other area law enforcement agencies could be seen at the scene as authorities worked to tow the car from the river
Lucas said police will provide additional updates once the car is removed from the river.
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