A loved onegoes missing.
Some drive away and never come home. We search lakes and rivers for their vehicle. Families never pay.
Watch our story 2:22 Shop the tool our divers carry →People still missing in the US at the end of 2025. No one keeps a count of how many went missing in their cars. We know of more than 1,000. When a car stays missing that long, there are only so many places it can hide. So we start our search underwater. Since 2019, we have solved 45 cases in 5 countries. We never charge families or law enforcement.
Missing: FBI NCIC, open records, Dec 31, 2025 · AWP count as of Oct 8, 2026
Whisper, 36, and her 8-month-old daughter, Sandra, went missing in California in July 2025. For a month, their family and the police searched. We searched with them on day 23, but found nothing. Ten days later, we came back. Within 10 minutes of putting our boat in the water, our sonar found a vehicle under a bridge. It was Whisper's SUV with both of them inside.
Watch their story
One morning in July 2018, Tammy, 59, drove away from her home in Great Falls, Montana, with her dog, Sadie. Tammy's husband, Bob, never stopped looking. Almost three years later, he asked AWP to help. On the fourth day of searching, our sonar found Tammy's truck near the spot where Sadie had been seen dripping wet multiple times in the first 24 hours after Tammy's disappearance. Sadie was the clue and the reason we were able to locate and help bring Tammy home.
Watch Tammy's storyFind the car, and you find them
Every search starts with the person, not the water. Their life tells us where to look. We follow the same steps on every case, and we keep going until every spot on the list is checked. Jacob's case followed that protocol, leading us to find him on day 2 at the end of a dead-end road, at a ferry crossing, on the San Joaquin River. He had been missing for 57 days.
The mapping
We mark where they were last seen, where they were going, and their last phone ping. We add the places they went every day, like home, work and school. Then we draw circles, 5-15 miles out, and pin every place a car could leave the road and go into the water. That list is our search. For Jacob, the map held three points: the restaurant in Lodi where he was last seen, where he was going in Stockton, and the bridge where his phone last pinged.
The sonar
Using side-scan sonar, we cast 75' left and 75' right. A wide stretch like this tells us if there is a target underwater. LiveScope lets us then see what it is. Searching for Jacob near an old ferry crossing, the screen showed a car in 13.5 feet of water, on its wheels, with what appeared to be someone trying to escape.
The dive with confirmation
We suit up, dive down, identify the vehicle, and reach in to see if we can verify if anybody is inside. We find the plate and confirm it's the car we're looking for. "5, J, B, C, 3, 1, 1." Today, it was Jacob's car, and we had confirmation that Jacob was still inside.
The call
When we have confirmation, we call the family first. They are the reason we are there. Then we call the Sheriff or local Police Department. From then on, the car is a crime scene. We do not touch it unless they say we can. For Jacob, that call went to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.
The plan
We then meet with local law enforcement and plan the recovery together. If they have their own dive team, they lead, and we step aside. If not, we coordinate the recovery with them, from bringing the loved one up to rigging and vehicle recovery. For Jacob, we worked side by side with San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deputies as the recovery diver.
The recovery
A recovery is slow, careful work. Gentle and respectful, every step of the way. Sometimes we bring the loved one up first. Other times, they come up inside their vehicle. We rig the car, and it comes up off the bottom, where it has been sitting since the day they went missing. For Jacob, everyone worked closely, with respect, bringing Jacob out of his car first. Then his white Honda Pilot came up onto the ramp at the ferry crossing, 57 days after he went missing.
Bringing them home
Bringing someone home means their family finally gets an answer. The not knowing ends. They can say goodbye and lay their loved one to rest. It is not a happy ending, but it is an ending. Many families are still waiting for that answer, so we keep searching, one case at a time. For Jacob, his mother, Joanna, and his sister, Jessica, spent 57 days looking for him. Now they know where he is. Jacob is home.
Jacob, 24, was bringing sushi from a Lodi restaurant to his girlfriend in Stockton. He never made it. His mother, Joanna, and his sister, Jessica, had been looking for almost two months. We started our search 56 days later, at his last phone ping, near a bridge. Then we worked from the old water plant toward the ferry crossing, where the road runs right into the San Joaquin River. Our sonar found 25 vehicles on the bottom of the river. Our divers checked everything we could on Day 1. None of them was Jacob's Honda Pilot.
On Day 2, we went back to the ferry crossing to check the last few vehicles we had not yet ruled out. One of them, on-screen showed a car the right size and shape, with what looked like someone trying to escape. Jared suited up and dove down. All the windows were up, and Jacob had done everything he could to get out. The plate was Jacob's. "5, J, B, C, 3, 1, 1." We called his mother, Joanna, first. Then, with the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, we gently brought Jacob up and out. A wrecker pulled his Honda Pilot up onto the ramp. Jacob is finally home.
Do You Know Someone Missing in a Vehicle?
Tell us what you know, and send any photos or files that might help.
- We search for people who went missing with a vehicle, like a car or truck.
- We search for that vehicle underwater, in hopes your loved one is still inside.
- We never charge families or law enforcement.
- We do not take on most foul play cases. Please still send us the details for analysis.
You Don't Charge Your Neighbor
We come as a friend, a brother, an uncle, a dad, and a grandpa.
Bringing a skill most people don't have, using it to help families search for a lost loved one who is missing in a vehicle.
We bring the boats, the sonar, and the divers.
Never charging a family or law enforcement.
We are a village and are here to help, free of charge, just as a neighbor should.
Sharing our searches on YouTube and Facebook, with care, never showing the remains of any loved ones.
YT and FB then pay us when you watch.
That is how we pay for the boats, the sonar, gear, travel, meals, lodging, and the divers.
We can't thank the families enough for trusting us to share something so personal. Many found us because of the family before them. And the next family will find us because of their story.
Seeing too many loved ones who could not get out of their car, we took what was available on the market and made it better.
A window breaker that breaks tempered glass with one push, should your vehicle end up in the water or on fire.
Includes a built-in seatbelt cutter if your seatbelt becomes stuck in a crash or rollover.
Backed by a Lifetime Warranty, it is the one we trust for our own families.
Our team carries one on every dive and in every AWP vehicle.
Our window breaker and our documentaries are how AWP pays its own way.
We can't thank the families enough for trusting us to share something so personal. Many found us because of the family before them. And the next family will find us because of their story.
Get the Same Tool We Trust for Our Own Families
Fires: NFPA, 2018 to 2022
- Shatters Tempered Windows Instantly.
- Cuts Jammed Seatbelts in Seconds.
- Save Your Family, Save Your Life!
Breaks most side windows, back windows and sunroofs. Tempered Windows Only. Does NOT Break Windshields. Know your car. Know your way out.
Watch their stories
In memory of everyone we've brought home in 45 solved cases, and every family still waiting.
- See It First
- Custom AWP Team Badge
- 21 Custom AWP Team Emojis