Authorities in Indiana have located a vehicle in the Ohio River that is believed to be connected to the 2002 disappearance of a mother and her two children.
According to WLWT-5, dive teams located a Nissan Pathfinder in the Ohio River near Aurora that had been underwater for approximately 19 years. It is not immediately clear how investigators discovered the vehicle, along with two other items, though WXIX reports that authorities had renewed the investigation as the 20th anniversary of the family’s disappearance was approaching. It is unclear if those objects are connected to the same investigation.
Authorities have reportedly confirmed the vehicle is connected to a 2002 missing persons case. The Delhi Township police department launched a missing persons investigation in April 2002 for a mother and her two children. WXIX identified the missing people as Van Nguyen, her daughter Kristina and her son John. The children were reportedly five and three years old when they disappeared.
The crews reportedly pulled the vehicle out of the water late Thursday night. Delhi Township Lt. Joe Macaluso told WXIX that it is too soon to determine whether there are human remains in the vehicle.
“This is been an investigation we have worked on for a long time. Two different detectives from Delhi have since retired,” Macaluso told the news station. “I’ve made them aware of the findings.”
This is a developing story. CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.