FHP Investigating A Car Found In Dade Canal

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) --  Florida Highway Patrol is investigating an SUV found in a canal on Thursday in West Miami-Dade.

The vehicle was towed from the scene on Okeechobee Rd. west of the Florida Turnpike and the body was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office.

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A South Florida Water Management employee told CBS4 News, a co-worker made the discovery while cleaning the canal around 10:00 Thursday morning.

"Every once and awhile we may come across cars in different canals," said Wes Fitch who spotted the car. "We have a procedure go through. We fill out the paperwork, we send it to Miami-Dade underwater recovery and they pull them out."

Florida Highway Patrol and Miami Dade Police's underwater recovery vans responded to the scene.  A tow truck pulled the vehicle out of the water. A body was found inside the dark-colored Honda Pilot.

FHP says it appears the SUV was in the canal for a while. They say a person reported missing from Hialeah is connected to the SUV but there's no confirmation the person in the SUV is the missing person.

"During the investigation, and working with other agencies, we do have information of a person missing from Hialeah that was reported last seen on January 9th and reported missing January the 16th. So at this time it is an ongoing investigation," said FHP Trooper Joe Sanchez.

Nearby, where the vehicle was found, two separate crash memorials mark the spot where others lost their lives.

Although the circumstances of this crash are not known, FHP notes this stretch of road is a dangerous one.

"Okeechobee, along with Krome, has always been a dangerous road.  We do believe this may be associated with an accident that happened when nobody witnessed the vehicle going into the canal," said Sanchez.