Two people drove a stolen luxury car into a tiny St. Paul lake Tuesday morning -- apparently intentionally -- and then ran from the scene, where at least one other vehicle has been detected under the surface, authorities said.

The wheels-up BMW was removed shortly after 1:45 p.m. after being submerged since about 6:10 a.m. in Loeb Lake, southeast of Maryland Avenue and Dale Street, according to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.

There was no one inside and nothing suspicious about its contents, other than the many gallons of lake water.

Sheriff's personnel come upon a second underwater vehicle, covered in silt, once they arrived at the lake to check on the BMW, said Sgt. Eric Bradt.

Late Tuesday morning, divers reported still another vehicle in the lake, but that find has yet to be confirmed, said sheriff's spokesman Randy Gustafson.

St. Paul police notified the Sheriff's Office of the BMW being stolen shortly after dawn Tuesday from the front of the owner's home, Gustafson said.

Dennis McGrath, Star Tribune
Sonar footage of a stolen BMW resting on its hood underwater in Loeb Lake in St. Paul.

The vehicles were roughly 100 feet offshore from Marydale Park and in about 7 1/2 feet of water, Gustafson said.

"A witness saw two people in the vehicle driving into the 8-acre lake, then leave the vehicle and flee the scene," Gustafson added.

Bradt said that thieves are known to abandon stolen vehicles in bodies of water in St. Paul, commonly in the Mississippi River.

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