METHUEN — Ronald Reagan was president when the rusted 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix was dumped in the Merrimack River.
The car, which was reported stolen in Lowell in 1982, was probably ditched in the river that same year. A crew from Clean River Project, state police and Coady's Towing pulled it out of the water in Methuen yesterday, near the Dracut line off Route 110.
The group also pulled half of a 1980s model Dodge — probably a pickup truck — from the same area, and a late 1990s model Toyota 4Runner reported stolen in Lawrence in 2003 that was in the water behind Lin Garden Restaurant & Lounge in Dracut, said Rocky Morrison, founder and president of the volunteer Clean River Project.
The 4Runner was probably in the water since 2003, Morrison said.
The group has pulled about 30 cars out of the river during the last couple of years. Seven cars were pulled from the water on Aug. 21. There are possibly four more in the water in the area, Morrison said.
"So we're down to our last four vehicles, unless somebody throws another in," he said.
Car thieves looking to ditch their bounty have apparently been attracted to the area because they can find openings where they can roll the vehicles into the water.
"Wherever there's an opening and they know it's deep enough, they'll try to ditch a vehicle in it," Morrison said.
The vehicles were in about 10 to 20 feet of water, about 20 to 30 feet from shore, Morrison said.
Police managed to trace the VIN numbers on the Grand Prix and the 4Runner, but they couldn't trace the pickup truck because it was so badly decayed. The insurance companies related to the traced vehicles will be notified, Morrison said.
"Every vehicle we take out, that's less oil and gas leaking in the river," Morrison said.
Lloyd Bell, a Clean River Project volunteer, took the day off from work to dive in the water and help connect tow cables to the vehicles.
"He was in the water for seven hours," Morrison said.
