UPDATE: Stolen Car Pulled From Bay, Just Off Route 37 Bridge

The vehicle removed Tuesday from the water near the end of the Tunney Bridge had been reported stolen in January, police said.

The New Jersey State Police notified Toms River police on Feb. 18 that the vehicle, a 2011 Ford Edge, was in the water, about 100 feet east of the shoreline at the Pier One Motel, said Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy.

"Corporeal Paul Burkhardt of the Toms River Police Dive Team inspected the vehicle determined it was not occupied and retrieve its license plate," the chief said.

Police determined that the vehicle was reported stolen from a Nostrand Drive home in Holiday City, Berkeley, on Jan. 23.

"Working with New Jersey State Police and Berkeley Township Police, the vehicle was towed from the bay on Tuesday afternoon," Mastronardy said.

The vehicle was not related to the storm Sandy.

Some on social media had speculated that the vehicle may have found its way into the bay because of Hurricane Sandy. The bay is among the many New Jersey waterways that are targeted for cleanup.