Stolen vehicle found in Ottawa River in Whitewater Region

A stolen vehicle was found in Ottawa River in the Whitewater Region, and no one knows how it got there. CTV’s Dylan Dyson has the story.

Ontario Provincial Police say a vehicle that had been reported stolen last year was found submerged in the Ottawa River about 120 kilometres northwest of the capital.

Renfrew County OPP officers responded to a call for service in Whitewater Region Township at around 11:15 a.m. on Oct. 15, on reports a car had been found in the river.

Wilderness Tours Rafting Resort said on its website that a staff member noticed something under the water while kayaking on the Butcher’s Knife Rapids during her personal time. After determining it was a sunken car, staff called police, who began an investigation.

Wilderness Tours president Joel Kowalski says this is the strangest thing he’s ever found in the Ottawa River.

“My initial thoughts were, how on earth is there a car down here? We’re quite far from the closest place where you could roll a vehicle easily into the river,” he told CTV News Ottawa.

“Where we’re located is on an island amongst the Rocher Fendu Rapids, which are in Whitewater Region. And so we’re halfway down a 10-kilometer section of wilderness river. There are no roads on this side. We’re on an island. There’s rapids that come around here.”

With help from a towing company, police and Wilderness Tours staff removed the car from the riverbed.

The OPP said the investigation revealed that the vehicle had been reported stolen in 2024 out of Whitewater Region Township.

Wilderness Tours says the car is still resting on the shoreline, awaiting final removal. The car was found about 300 metres from the nearest road access, and it’s a mystery how it ended up in the rapids.

“My best assumption is that this vehicle came from upriver, floated down around this corner and landed here because that’s the closest you could easily get a vehicle in the river. But that’s still 700 metres upstream from this spot,” Kowalski said.

Getting the car out of the wilderness will also prove to be a challenge, he said.

“We’re basically going to winch it up to the top of the rapid, where we’ll get it onto a float, and then carefully, with multiple secure points, get it across the river to a large, heavy-duty tow truck with a boom arm, and then lift it out of the river and take it off to their yard.”

OPP are asking anyone with information to contact the Renfrew OPP 1-888-310-1122.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Dylan Dyson

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