Recovery of body in submerged SUV to resume Tuesday

Rescue workers were unable to recover an SUV with a person inside it that plunged into the Lamoille River Monday morning near the Wrong Way Bridge along Vermont 15 in Cambridge. They will resume their efforts to pull the submerged vehicle and its driver from the water on Tuesday morning.

According to Cambridge Second Assistant Fire Chief Dan Wyckoff, the vehicle was traveling westbound early Monday morning when it went into the river and headed upstream, before being turned around by the current. Wyckoff confirmed there was a body in the vehicle, and has termed the effort to reach the car and its occupant a "recovery process."

Authorities did not release the identity the person in the vehicle, nor the specific make and model of it.

"Divers have been in and have made it to the vehicle but the current has pushed them right over it. Visibility is about zero other than right on the very bottom," Wyckoff said of the recovery attempt. "What the problem is right now is where the vehicle is located has an extreme amount of current. Unfortunately it's going to take some time."

Lt. James Whitcomb of the Vermont State Police said the vehicle was submerged in water that was approximately 12 feet deep.

"It is literally pitch black, and it is all hand-touch feel, but the water current is the biggest issue right now," said Whitcomb. "The divers are connected to a line, and they're essentially being pushed. It's hard to get down to the bottom, and once they do get down they can only stay for a short amount of time. They're trying to connect lines and secure that vehicle, and hopefully will be pulling it out tomorrow."

Vermont State Police, Johnson and Cambridge fire departments and Cambridge Rescue, were all on the scene assisting with the search and recovery efforts Monday, police said.

"We're taking extra precautions, this is a very technical dive and the water current is very strong and that always makes it that much more dangerous for our divers," said Whitcomb. "The hope is that the water conditions will improve. We've seen the water go down at least a foot and a half since we've been here today. The water is going to go down further and it should make the water conditions better.

As a result of the recovery efforts, Vermont 15 by the Wrong Way Bridge is being reduced to one lane of alternating traffic around 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Police encourage motorists to seek alternate routes of travel until further notice. An alternate route is available via Lower Pleasant Valley and Upper Pleasant Valley roads.

Free Press correspondent Kevin Hurley contributed to this report.

Follow Philip Tortora on Twitter at @philiptortora or reach him at 660-1847.