'It also brings closure to the mystery': Missing Casco Twp. woman's vehicle found in river
A vehicle owned by a woman missing since May was recovered from where the St. Clair and Belle rivers meet in Marine City Saturday afternoon.
Adventures With Purpose, a search and rescue team based out of Oregon contacted by Nadine Moses' family, was searching the river in a previously searched location when they found the vehicle, said St. Clair County Sheriff Mat King.
King said the vehicle was first discovered by sonar about 11 a.m., with it recovered about 4:35 p.m. about 30 feet off shore of St. Clair Aggregates, located on South Belle River Avenue
The blue Ford recovered from the river appeared to have extensive damage, said St. Clair County Sheriff Dive Team Chief Roger Randall.
Through a search of the VIN number, the vehicle was positively identified as belonging to Nadine Moses, who has been missing since early May, King said. The identification of the body is pending.
The Marine City police and fire departments, as well as the St. Clair County Sheriff Department and Tri-Hospital EMS were on the scene.
Family members of Moses were also at the scene.
"As this brings sadness to the reality of loss to the family, it also brings closure to the mystery of her whereabouts," her son, Todd Moses, said in a statement. "We have been so thankful for the countless prayers and support we have received over these past months."
Nadine Moses, 84, left her Casco Township residence early in the morning May 4. As of late July, the department had no leads.
Check back for updates.
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How the vehicle was found
Adventures With Purpose was first contacted several months ago by Nadine Moses' daughter-in-law, who kept them updated on the search, the group said in a statement.
Divers began their search using two sonar boats heading north towards the Belle River. They located a target matching the length of Nadine Moses’ vehicle, the statement said. Once it was verified that the target was metal, a diver dove 20 feet under the water, approximately 35 to 45 feet from shore and verified that the plate matched Moses’.
The group met with members of Nadine Moses’ family before the vehicle was removed.
“Our thoughts and prays go out to Nadine’s family during this difficult time,” the statement said.
"Additionally, we have immensely appreciated the many hours of searching that the St. Clair Sheriff's Office has completed and for the volunteer search group, Adventures with Purpose for making today's discovery," Todd Moses said. "These two organizations worked hand-in-hand with the recovery of my mother and her vehicle from the water once the location was learned."
Adventures With Purpose solves cold cases to bring closure to families missing their loved ones. Since 2019, 12 missing person cases have been solved.
Contact Brian Wells at (810) 357-8668 or bwells@gannett.com.