Victims found in submerged car have been missing for weeks - KNOE 8 News; KNOE-TV; KNOE.com |

MADISON PARISH, La. (KNOE 8 News) - Three people, missing since January 7th, have been found dead in a submerged car off of interstate 20 in Madison Parish.

Police confirm that Brady Brown, Eddie Cobb, and Ella Williams were on their way to Shreveport, driving back from a funeral in Columbia, South Carolina. But the three never made it home.

"Earlier this month we received a 'BOLO', a be on the lookout for a South Carolina vehicle," said Louisiana State Police Lt. Julie Lewis.

Louisiana along with state police departments in Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, searched for the missing people, with little luck. Three weeks went by without leads, until Tuesday, when a state police airplane flying over the Tensas river got their first glimpse of a piece of the missing car. "They had flown, starting in Shreveport area and flown over this way and that's when he saw what appeared to be the bumper floating down the river," said Lewis.

Early Wednesday morning, state troopers found the car submerged in between interstate 20 bridges by mile marker 61 in Madison Parish. Once they recovered the car, police were able to confirm the bodies belonged to the missing trio.

Now they're trying to figure out, how the car ended up in the river. Police say tire marks at the scene indicate, the car didn't swerve or slow down before driving straight into the river. "The coroner is going to request an autopsy of the driver to see if a medical condition perhaps caused the crash," said Lewis.

State troopers are continuing to investigate the scene, hoping to piece together a timeline of when this crash happened. Relatives say the last known phone call from the three, happened near Birmingham, Alabama on the day they disappeared.

Police do not suspect foul play.