DIAMOND BLUFF – A stolen semi-tractor was found submerged in the Mississippi River off the Diamond Bluff boat landing in the wee hours of Tuesday, June 13.

Pierce County deputies responded to the call at 4:30 a.m., when they swam out to the truck to check for survivors. No one was seen in the cab or sleeper area. The Ellsworth Fire Department boat responded to the scene as well.

A Pierce County investigator contacted the truck’s owner, 48-year-old Joe A. Cotrone, who said the big rig had been stolen early Sunday morning from a repair shop in Blaine, Minn.

Siewert’s Towing removed the truck from the river and the graphics Cotrone described were located on the truck. Someone had removed the air intake from the air cleaner in the engine, intake of the turbo and the radiator, according to a PCSO news release. The DOT number on both sides of the truck had been spray-painted black. The rear lights near the mud flaps on the frame had been removed, along with the driver’s side chrome stack. Both front seats had been removed and the camera in the cab. The suspects had also sprayed a yellowish oil all around the cab.

A camera inside the truck captured the thief behind the wheel at 2:36 a.m. June 11. A neighbor near the Diamond Bluff boat landing said he heard a commotion around 4 a.m. June 13, but didn’t get up to investigate it.

Cotrone put out a plea on Facebook on June 11 for help in finding his truck; it was shared more than 10,000 times.

The case remains under investigation. A suspect has been identified. 

Look in next week's Pierce County Journal for an update on this case.