Toyota pickup pulled from canal was stolen in October
Lee County Sheriff’s investigators say the 1997 Toyota pickup that was pulled from a canal near the Hendry County line on Jan. 27 was a stolen vehicle.
It had been stolen in October of 2008.
The vehicle was pulled from the Hendry Canal at Earnest Ave. S. and Naples Ave. in a remote area of Lehigh Acres.
On Jan. 27, investigators said two vehicles were found in the canal; one being the pickup truck and the other, a silver Toyota car.
The owner of the stolen pickup was identified as Louis E. Souverain of 3606 SW 10th St., Lehigh. He told deputies on Oct. 9, 2008 that his truck had disappeared overnight. The deputy assigned to the case reported no broken glass on the ground and no suspects in the case. The owner of the pickup told the deputy that he had all the keys to the vehicle.
Sheriff’s Office divers were called to the canal early on Jan. 27 by a passerby. There was no processing of the vehicles due to their condition, but the VIN number matched the one belonging to the pickup.