CHP, Cal Fire and sheriff’s boating unit pull truck from Sacramento River near Red Bluff

Investigators are searching for the person who dumped a stolen truck into the Sacramento River east of Interstate 5, between Cottonwood and Red Bluff, the Tehama County Sheriff's Office said.

Crews spent Wednesday morning recovering the 2019 silver Dodge Ram pickup, located south of the Jellys Ferry Road Bridge. They jumped from a boat onto the truck and pulled it from four feet of fast-moving water, said Sgt. Mark Levindofske, who's in charge of the sheriff's boating unit.

The theft was reported earlier this week off China Rapids Drive, not far from where the truck went into the river, said Sgt.

Kevin Jones with the California Highway Patrol in Red Bluff. Advertisement Advertisement

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It was probably pushed off the boat launch, said Levindofske, then drifted and settled on the rocky river bottom about 200 yards downstream from the ramp.

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Crews from the Tehama County Sheriff's boating unit and California Highway Patrol help towing service staff pull a stolen truck out of the Sacramento River near the Jellys Ferry Road bridge southeast of Cottonwood on Tuesday, Aug.

13, 2025.

A caller spotted the truck in the river and called law enforcement before 10:54 a.m. on Monday, he said. When deputies and CHP officers boated out to the truck to search it, no one was in the cab.

The CHP, boating unit and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighters met with a towing service after 8 a.m. on Wednesday to pull the truck out of the river, said Levindofske; a tricky job without spilling the vehicle's oil and gas into the water or onto the dry grassy bank.

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The Bureau of Land Management helped with the project, he said.

13, 2025.

The truck is a total loss to the owner, but recovering it before it could do serious damage the ecosystem was a big relief, Levindofske said.

This case is still being investigated, said Jones of the CHP.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Red Bluff CHP at 530-737-6746.

(This story was updated to add a video.)

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Stolen truck pulled from fast Sacramento River water near Red Bluff [8]

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