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The Jeep Wrangler can go places that most personal vehicles can’t tread. However, even Wranglers get stuck in boggy, wet environments. Such was the case for one Jersey Shore Jeep owner and her partially submerged Wrangler. Further, police officers had to work quickly to free a baby in a car seat from the off-roader’s back seat. 

Police officers pulled a baby from a stuck and partially submerged Jeep Wrangler

Fortunately for a Jersey Shore family, sinking their Jeep Wrangler in a wet, treacherous trail had a happy ending. Specifically, local police officers were able to arrive and pull a baby from a car seat. Photos and videos show the JK-generation Jeep Wrangler partially submerged, with some parts sinking beneath around five feet of water. 

A JK Wrangler is a capable off-roader, sure. Jeep claims the JK will ford through around 30 inches of water at low speed. However, the JK is a poor boat, as evidenced by the immobile and partially sinking Jeep Wrangler. 

A set of Jersey Shore Police Officers pull a baby out of a submerged Jeep Wrangler.
Police officers save a baby from a partially-submerged Jeep | Lower Township Police Department

Patrolman Antonio Marroquin, a police officer and former U.S. Marine, mentioned the topography of Lepore’s Point. He suggested vehicles get stuck there periodically, per NBC Philidelphia. “There’s a bunch of smaller lakes, it was very difficult to run around and make sure you weren’t losing your footing. It was super muddy back there. Once we got to where the vehicle was at, it was under a good amount of water,” he said.

Ray Tomlinson, an officer with the May County Sheriff’s Office, prompted a collective sigh of relief when he pulled the child from the car seat. Fortunately, the child was unharmed in the incident. That, and every other occupant of the sinking Jeep managed to self-rescue. “Today was one of those days when it felt good to be a police officer,” Marroquin said of the rescue.