Oregon deputies pull out 57 electric scooters, bikes out of Portland river
(FOX NEWS) - This is not your average "catch of the day."
A sheriff's office in Oregon recently disclosed it hauled dozens of electric scooters and bicycles out of a major river in Portland.
The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday on Twitter the department's dive team recovered a total of 57 scooters and bikes over a two-day period in the Willamette River in Portland.
"The team had to quit early because they needed a bigger boat!" the sheriff's office said.
Officials told FOX12 the dive team found 15 scooters in May during a training exercise before dredging up dozens more this week. The scooter brands included Razor, Lime and Bird.
The dive team used the scooter recovery as a training exercise since the river bottom has limited visibility so everything has to be found by touch.
As scooter popularity has exploded in recent years, so have environmental concerns over the electric batteries impacting marine life.
Sgt. Brandon White from the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office told the Oregonian officials weren't sure who dumped the scooters, but that divers were worried batteries would leak into the river.
"We advise those people not to park scooters in the river," he told the paper.
The recovery mission in the river drew a small crowd along the seawall in downtown Portland, seemingly all curious by the police activity.
"It kind of sucks to see them being abused like that," Ryan Alexander told FOX12.
Many of the scooters appeared to be rusted, but the sheriff's office said the lights on one were still working.
A Lime spokesperson told Fox News vandalizing scooters is "wrong and only harms those who rely on these vehicles every day as an affordable, convenient way to get around."
"If anyone sees a Lime scooter that they suspect is being tampered with or vandalized, we ask that they please immediately report it to our 24/7 customer service team, available through the app, email (support@li.me), and phone or text (1-888-LIME-345)," the spokesperson added.