Stolen car dumped in river near Modesto's Ninth Street Bridge

MODESTO -- A stolen car was dumped in the Tuolumne River near the Ninth Street Bridge on Thursday.

A copper colored, late-model SUV was spotted in the river at about 2:15 p.m.

Hugo Patino, a battalion chief with Modesto Regional Fire Authority, said a search team determined there was nobody inside the vehicle.

That area of the river is a common place for auto thieves to dump stolen vehicles.