A stolen vehicle missing for months has been recovered from Wolf Lake in Van Buren County after a fisherman spotted it using sonar technology.
Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott said a detective sergeant was contacted March 25 by a citizen fishing on the lake in Almena Township, who noticed a suspicious object on a Garmin LiveScope system and shared images that appeared to show a vehicle submerged in about 25 feet of water.
Authorities say the detective coordinated with the Van Buren County Dive Team, providing the location and sonar images to plan a search. On March 26, dive team members entered the water and successfully located the vehicle, later identified as a Dodge Ram pickup that had been reported stolen out of Kalamazoo County in October 2025.
Officials say the vehicle had been underwater for roughly six months and had become a habitat for fish and other aquatic life. During recovery efforts, divers took care to return wildlife safely back into the lake.
The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office Drone Team also assisted in the operation, providing aerial support and monitoring conditions for personnel on the water. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
