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Dead dog found in truck submerged beneath ice in Toms River

-New Jersey state police recovered a dead dog that had been trapped for more than 12 hours Sunday in a truck submerged beneath the icy surface of Toms River, and were questioning the two men who left the animal behind.

The two turned themselves in at Toms River police headquarters for interviews in the afternoon after state police and Coast Guard rescue crews had spent much of the day searching for them with helicopters and dive teams, said State Police Sergeant First Class Gregory Williams.

Andrew Mayer, 27, drove a white pickup onto the ice sometime after midnight with Daniel Jolly, 25, riding in the passenger seat, Williams said. No charges had been filed, and the incident remained under investigation, he said.

Witnesses reported seeing at least one person get out of the vehicle before it went through the ice, according to an account on NJ.com, but the occupants' fate was unclear until state police divers got through a hole in the ice in the afternoon to see the truck up close.

The dog, a boxer mix, was recovered from the wreck at about 3 p.m., Williams said.

The truck broke through the ice at some point soon after midnight. Witnesses reported that someone drove the vehicle out onto the ice and started to do "donuts," Toms River police told NJ.com.

Crews from the state police and the Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City searched in vain until about 2 a.m. and resumed the search later in the morning at first light, Coast Guard Petty Officer Nick Ameen said.

The truck was found underwater Sunday morning soon after 10 a.m., officials said. The first clue came when a Coast Guard helicopter pilot saw a hole in the ice, Ameen said.

Soon thereafter, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer was able to see the truck underwater with its windows up and doors closed, Ameen said. Crews were not immediately to see if anyone was inside the vehicle because the windows were tinted, Williams said.

A witness apparently phoned in an initial report of the incident soon after midnight, the petty officer said.

"They noticed a truck driving on the ice and saw the lights disappear," Ameen said.

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