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VIDOR — Law enforcement is working to find out how a vehicle ended up in the water near the Neches River.

Orange County Sheriff’s Capt. Joey Jacobs said at approximately noon Wednesday a kayaker picked up an image on his sensor he believed to be a vehicle in a body of water around the 1200 block of Four Oaks Ranch Road north of Vidor.

The man did a few more scans and confirmed what he was seeing and called the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities got to the location at approximately 6 p.m. and, with the assistance of the Port Arthur Fire Department, Vidor Fire Department and local wrecker services, pulled a Geo Tracker from the water.

No one was inside the vehicle, and Jacobs said investigators initially assumed the vehicle was stolen. That did not prove correct, he said.

The registered owner was contacted and told authorities her granddaughter was involved in an accident years ago, Jacobs said.

It is unknown how the vehicle got into the waterway.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is assisting in the investigation.

— Written by Mary Meaux