Crews Rush to Susquehanna River to Locate Binghamton Van Thief

Broome County fire department boats were dispatched to the Susquehanna River as police searched for a man who stole a vehicle from a downtown Binghamton business.

The saga started shortly after 8:30 a.m. Saturday when a Nissan NV200 van was taken from Court Street.

The stolen vehicle was logged passing license plate readers heading westbound on the Vestal Parkway.

The van was spotted by Vestal police minutes later parked on the shoulder of the parkway across from a Binghamton University building.

The vehicle was unoccupied. Police used video from nearby surveillance cameras to develop a description of the suspect involved in stealing the van.

A police dog brought to the area indicated the culprit may have headed toward the nearby river.

Police requested fire department boats to stage along the river as a precaution. Boats from the Johnson City and Binghamton fire departments were sent to the river in case officers needed assistance.

A short time later, police video recorded at a nearby business and determined the thief apparently had been walking along the Vestal Parkway after he abandoned the stolen van.

No information was available from Binghamton police on the effort to locate the suspect.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.