MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – A red Jeep captured the attention of the nation Thursday while Hurricane Dorian’s heavy rains and gusty winds battered the Grand Strand coastline.
Police came across the abandoned SUV near the shoreline around 38th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach.
People watched as the tide rose and waves continued to pull the Jeep closer into the ocean, having many wonder if it would end up in the ocean and also what happened to the owner.
The owner of the Jeep, who does not want to be identified, reached out to WMBF News and explained what happened and why it was abandoned while a hurricane hit the coast.
“My cousin has been around, he rides a motorcycle so I thought I’d let him borrow my jeep because the weather has been so bad. This morning he thought it would be cool to go on the beach and take a quick video of the sunrise before the storm came,” the Jeep’s owner said.
But the ride on the beach took a turn for the worst.
“So he got on the beach and started driving it. I guess there’s that runoff there and he didn’t realize it was in front of him, he was looking out the window when he went off and got stuck, which you can see he actually banged up the bumper a bit,” the owner explained.
He said that his cousin started calling people to try and get someone to get it, but the conditions were too bad for anyone to get the Jeep off the beach. The Jeep’s owner said his cousin didn’t even tell him what happened, until police showed up at his door.
“He avoided me for a good hour or two because he didn’t know what to say and then police actually came to the house. And they said, ‘Hey we found your Jeep on the beach.’ Then I called him and spoke to him and he told me exactly what happened,” the Jeep’s owner said.
He said he hopes it’s not totaled, but has a feeling that it is.
“It’s probably going to end up being totaled. I didn’t want it totaled… the Jeep is an awesome Jeep,” he said.
The owner told WMBF News that he has been in touch with police and a tow company to get the Jeep off the beach when conditions get better.
Republished with permission from WMBF. Click here to watch the video version of the story.
