Car pulled from Lake St. Clair with woman inside, believed to be accident

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WJBK) - Police are releasing new information about the woman found dead  with her body still in her car, underwater in Lake St. Clair Wednesday.

The victim, who had been missing since March 3, has been identified as 22-year-old Acadia Cadotte.

"Rest in peace my precious angel. I will love you for eternity ... Please pray for me and my family."

Those words were posted online from the mother of Cadotte, who lived in Clinton Township.

St. Clair Shores police say they discovered her inside her car, submerged in Lake St. Clair Wednesday afternoon.

"It's tragic," said Officer Paul Opper, St. Clair Shores police. "I mean, 22 years old. She had her whole life ahead of her. Very tragic."

Police say Thursday that wintry weather may have played a role in Cadotte's accident. She had been driving along a private driveway at the Shore Club Condominiums near Nine Mile and Jefferson.

"It was snowy that day," Opper said. "As far as the road conditions were, we are unsure of that because it is private property. We're not sure if it was plowed or not."

Police previously say Cadotte  was last seen and heard from March 3rd and was driving to a friend's house.

"Her friend received a text message from her a few minutes before saying she was coming into the complex," Opper said.

Police say that's when she may have gone into the water, describing a curve in the road close to where Cadotte's Honda Civic was discovered.

Police believe the road may have been slick as her car flipped onto its roof into nearly eight feet of icy water.

Cadotte was found in the front seat with her seatbelt removed.

Cadotte's Facebook profile showed a lively young woman who studied phlebotomy and who had been working as a radiology aid at Beaumont. CLICK HERE for a photo gallery.

Her family was too heartbroken to speak Thursday, while police, awaiting autopsy results, sending prayers to her family.

"They're very devastated and our entire department feels for them," Opper said. "It is a hard time for them."

Police say they're still waiting on toxicology results, but are no longer investigating her death as a suicide.