The bodies of two missing mothers were found in a submerged Jeep that plunged over an embankment and plummeted some 70 feet into the river below, cops said.
Vanessa Bautista, 24, and Alexa Navarro, 23, both of South Bend, Indiana, were discovered on Tuesday night in the mangled vehicle after it was pulled out of the St. Joseph River in Niles, Michigan — about 11 miles north of the women’s hometown.
They were positively identified by Western Michigan University Office of the Medical Examiner on Thursday — although an official cause of death has yet to be determined.
Niles Police Chief James Millin told The Post Thursday that the vehicle is believed to have plunged over an embankment around 4 a.m. Sunday morning. The women were reported missing later that same day.
Cops said they are pursuing all leads, but there doesn’t appear to have been any “outside forces” at play.
“A lot of people were concerned that the vehicle had a lot of damage and I don’t think they understand that the vehicle went off at embankment and down approximately 60 or 70 feet of a pretty steep incline, hitting trees and so on on the way down before it hit the water,” he said.
“There’s been statements made that possibly somebody was chasing the girl, so we’re investigating that, looking into it,” Millin said. “You know, right now, there do not appear to have been any outside forces, you know, such as pushing the vehicle off the road or something like that – but again that is still under investigation.”
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