OCSO investigating abandoned vehicle at bridge

Friday, March 06, about 2:30 a.m., the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Port Arthur Police Department received a call about an abandoned vehicle on top of the Veterans Memorial Bridge. When the officers arrived, they found a vehicle parked on the side of the road, but could not find anyone around the vehicle.

While searching the area around the bridge, U.S. Coastguard boats were dispatched to the Neches River waterway under the bridge. Later, they were joined by the Port Arthur Fire Department, Bridge City Fire Department, Orange County Emergency Services District #3, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office with their boats. In total, there were seven boats and several divers on scene in the event that someone was in the water.

After an all day search with advanced sonar equipment, no one was located in the water. Investigators have been in contact with the owner of the vehicle who resides in Port Arthur and are following up on leads to determine the whereabouts of the person who was operating the truck at the time it was abandoned.