Ice diving search/salvage recovery of an SUV submerged in the St. Croix River south of Stillwater MN

A commercial diving recovery of a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban from under the ice of the St. Croix River in February, 2026. The SUV was upside down with the front end buried in the muck of the river bottom 30 feet below the ice. The driver was returning from ice fishing for lake sturgeon on the river about 10:30 p.m. The underwater vehicle recovery was performed by Tri-State Diving, located in Detroit Lakes, MN. A power plant occasionally discharges warm cooling water into the St. Croix river creating open water and thin ice conditions on one side of the river. The driver went through the thin ice near the open water. In Minnesota, owners of submerged vehicles are required by law to remove them from lakes and rivers within 30 days of submergence. A FIFISH EVO underwater drone and Humminbird Mega 360 sonar were used to locate the Suburban. This video also includes an interview with the vehicle driver and information about the Minnesota record for the largest catch-and-release lake sturgeon, first caught in February, 2019. Tri-State Diving is in the business of recreational and commercial diving, not professional video production. This handheld cellphone video was produced to document the operation for review, education and entertainment purposes, not for generating social media clicks or monetization. Many of the Tri-State Diving winter recoveries use their patented Submerged Underwater Vehicle Extractor (SUVE) machine, as shown in this video. Find out more at...    / tristatedivingmn