VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A vigil held at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Friday night overlooked a growing memorial to remember the man who drove off the fishing pier near 14th Street last Saturday morning.
After days of waiting for adequate water conditions, dive crews finally removed the car from the ocean Friday morning. Inside, they found the body of a man.
"They're going to extract the body from the vehicle and we will go with the medical examiner and attempt to identify him and reunite him with his family," said Jody Saunders, a spokesperson for the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Police said the vehicle did not have a license plate when they pulled it out of the ocean, so they may need to use the Nissan Kicks' VIN number to identify the man.
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There is a 'strong suggestion' and 'lots of evidence' to support that this is connected to a missing person's case out of Virginia Beach, police said during a media conference Friday morning. However, they have not officially connected the two incidents or released the victims' name.
Antonio Simmons, of Virginia Beach, organized the memorial and the vigil that's been growing all week long.
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"I came across the video and saw how hateful some of the joking comments were," Simmons said. "I wanted to create something that let others know, as well as the family, that there's others that care."
People, like Adriana S., of Virginia Beach, came to pay their respects for someone they didn't know.
"It's really sad," she said. "I wanted to pray over them, as well. It just really ripped my heart out."
While the vigil is meant to remember someone, Simmons told News 3's Jay Greene he hopes it serves as a reminder that there's help for anyone struggling with mental health.
"It's okay to talk about your issues," Simmons said. "It doesn't make you any less human."
Simmons hopes people start taking conversations about mental health more seriously.
"It's not something that should only be talked about when tragedy like this occurs," Simmons said. "It should always be talked about."
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, dial 988 for the suicide and crisis hotline.
