Car recovered from Reflection Pool

RUMFORD -- The Information Center parking lot was packed on a beautiful Saturday morning into the early afternoon.

The occasion? People were gathered with their eyes on the Reflection Pool below the Pennacook Dam where a salvage crew worked for a second day to search for Tyson Hanson's silver 2002 Volkswagen Passat.

Early Friday morning, Hanson was outside the vehicle, which had been left running, when it rolled backed, pushed open an unlocked gate and rolled 50 yards down the rocky hill and into the water.

Unable to locate the vehicle Friday in the dark, murky water, they had the Shelburne Dam stop releasing water, which dropping the water level by four feet for Saturday's search.

Then, about 75 minutes into Saturday's search with divers using the Bethel Fire Department's rescue boat, the car was located about 400 feet from where it went it, taken by the current.

With a few Rumford firefighters and Med-Care Ambulance there for crowd control and safety in case a tow cable snapped, a cable from Adley's Auto tow truck was taken by boat to the location, where scuba divers Chris Bryant and Ed Carey swam to the car and attached the cable to the rear axle.

The 4,000-pound car was hydraulically reeled in until, finally, a tire surfaced. The car was hauled up on its side and flipped over on dry ground around 1 p.m. The demolished car had part of its crunched in with a lot of damage to the driver's side where it had been hauled.

It was also a good day for Dave's Hot Dogs, who had his cart set up in the parking lot.

Car recovered Photo:

During the second day of searching, a salvage crew worked Saturday to recover a Volkswagen Passat that had rolled into the Reflection Pool below the Pennacook Dam. (Times photo by Bruce Farrin)

Car recovered Photo:

A salvage crew, which included divers Chris Bryant and Ed Carey, located the submerge car some 400 feet from where it entered the Reflection Pool, carried by the current. (Times photo by Bruce Farrin)