RECOVERY UPDATE: Vehicle that Drove off 14th Street Pier Recovered

On Friday, February 2, 2024, the vehicle that drove off the 14^th Street Pier on January 27, 2024, was recovered by Crofton Industries.

Crofton Industries arrived at the 14^th Street Pier with a barge, crane, and dive team, at approximately 6:15 A.M. The vehicle’s location was confirmed using sonar, and at around 9:00 A.M. a hard hat diver went in and secured the vehicle for removal. By 9:20 A.M. the crane had successfully removed the vehicle from the water and placed it on the barge.

The vehicle was confirmed to be a red Nissan Kicks. There was one adult male in the vehicle. He was pronounced deceased at 9:29 A.M. and transported to the Medical Examiner for identification.

The Medical Examiner has confirmed that the decedent is a male white, 57, from Virginia Beach. This is the same individual who had been reported missing by family members. Our investigation has determined no evidence of criminality prior to the individual driving off the boardwalk.

The safety of those involved in this recovery operation, maintaining integrity of evidence, and providing some semblance of closure and peace to the decedent’s family have been the top priorities of this operation. We would like to thank all partners, including Crofton Industries, the Virginia Beach Fire Department, and the Chesapeake Fire Department for their assistance in this tragic incident.

While we cannot presume to fully know what motivated this individual’s actions, they do appear to have been deliberate. For that reason, we wanted to share the following local mental health organizations, support groups, and resources for suicide prevention and education:

• 988lifeline.org
• NAMI Coastal Virginia Crisis Resource List
• Sarah Michelle Peterson Foundation
• CHKD Guidance & Resource Lists
• CHAS Foundation

PREVIOUS NEWS RELEASE

Ongoing Efforts to Recover Vehicle that Drove off 14^th Street Pier

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, Sunday, January 28, 2024 – On January 27, 2024, at 6:52 A.M., Virginia Beach Emergency Communications and Citizen Services received calls reporting a vehicle had driven off the pier at the oceanfront on 14th Street in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Members of the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) and Virginia Beach Fire Department (VBFD) arrived to find a completely submerged vehicle. Dangerous water conditions, to include poor visibility, prevented divers from deploying. This resulted in resorting to utilizing sonar to locate the vehicle which was determined to be on the ocean floor.

As the incident transitioned into a recovery operation, the appropriate salvage equipment had to be located and respond to Virginia Beach.  On January 28, 2024, around 1:00 P.M., an attempt to recover the vehicle was made utilizing a salvage barge and professional salvage divers from a contracted private company. Due to continued adverse water conditions there were issues maintaining the stability of the salvage barge, as well as continuing concerns for diver safety.

As a result, the planned vehicle recovery has been postponed. VBPD and the contractor are reassessing and devising a plan for a safe and effective recovery operation.

At this time, the exact number or identity of occupants remains unknown. The goal of this mission is to safely retrieve the vehicle, reunite all occupants with their loved ones, and maintain the integrity of all evidence. We would like to thank all partners, including VBFD, for their assistance in this tragic incident. We would also like to express our profound condolences to the family of the deceased. VBPD is working diligently to bring closure to their loved ones through our investigative and recovery process.

We will provide regular updates on the progress of this incident via our Twitter page at https://twitter.com/VBPD. If you have information about this case, please contact the VBPD Detective Bureau at 757-385-4101 or anonymously through Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP/P3tips.com.