A heartbroken family is left horrified after a body was found in a submerged car, searching for a missing California man who owned the vehicle. Jacob Vanzant, 24, disappeared two months ago on February 17 when he was last seen leaving a sushi restaurant in his hometown of Lodi. His childhood sweetheart Celestial Ryte, his girlfriend of nine years, made a desperate appeal for information about her missing partner, saying she had been getting takeout for the couple after work when “he walked out that door”. Turned out and it almost disappeared.” Despite a publicity campaign and a police search, it was a volunteer team of divers that found VanZant’s submerged car over the weekend. Although the remains have not yet been officially identified, the search suggests the search to find VanZant has ended tragically, with family members reportedly confirming they believe That body is his.
An organization called Adventures With Purpose (AWP), a volunteer underwater search and recovery dive team, revealed that its members found a white 2004 Honda Pilot VanZant’s car on the side of a road on Saturday. The AWP released a statement about the tragic discovery the following day during a YouTube livestream titled: “We found Jacob Vangent.” The video was captioned: “On April 15, 2023, AWP found a white Honda Pilot with license plate number: 5JCB311 under 18 feet of water at the end of Eight Mile Road between Lodi and Stockton California. Found inside The remains are believed to be that of the missing 24-year-old Jakob Vanzant .
Who Was Jacob VanZant?
During the 27-minute stream, a representative for the AWP said the organization had become involved after “the family reached out to us”. They said that VanZant had some alcoholic cocktails while waiting for his food order and was reportedly seen driving “a little erratic” afterward. Discussing the dive, he said that the number plate of the submerged vehicle proved it was VanZant’s car, “We were able to identify that there was a male individual who was with the vehicle, and I was also able to identify It was determined that this male individual was wearing a hoodie, which was something that Yakub was also wearing. We can’t say with 100 percent certainty, ‘We found Yakub today.’ but we are very confident in saying that we have found Jacob.”
Photos shared by VanZant’s family during the week-long search show him hugging his pregnant girlfriend, and a baby registry website was registered for him and Ryte, with a note that their child was due in June 2022. Riate reportedly told local news station Fox 40 that she believed the body in the car to be her partner’s, though she was too nervous to talk on camera. She released a statement instead, saying: “Jacob is loved by all, he is a son, a brother, a father and a best friend, He will always be a part of me.”The Lodi Police Department reportedly confirmed to news station KCRA 3 that the vehicle was indeed Vangent’s, but said detectives were waiting for a medical examiner to determine the identity of the person found inside. For further information stay tuned with us.
