The case of the car in the canyon is somewhat of a mystery.

Vernon RCMP received a call Saturday shortly before 1 p.m. that a vehicle rolled over an embankment and into a gully in the Noble Canyon area off Highway 6 in Lavington.

“Our officers attended and looked for an access area to find the vehicle,” said RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk.

“The witness stated he saw a car barrel roll from the top of the cliffs, roll about 10 times, become airborne and land in the gully below where he could not see it. The witness said he did not see anyone ejected from the vehicle nor did he see any other vehicles at the top of the cliffs.”

The distance from the cliff top to the gully below is about 300 to 350 feet.

Vernon Search and Rescue were called out due to the uncertainty of people being in the vehicle.

Search and rescue sent a rope team into the area as well as a helicopter that lowered a technician down to the crash site by winch.

After locating the tracks where the vehicle left the road, debris leading down the hillside, and the marks in the hill where the vehicle impacted, it was learned that the vehicle involved was an unoccupied Mazda minivan with no license plates.

The vehicle identification number (VIN) was located and checked.

“There were seven or eight other vehicles in the gully,” said Molendyk. “No license plates or VINs were obtained from them, the area was not safe to examine and the helicopter was running low on fuel.”

ICBC has been advised of the file.

Molendyk said a thorough search has been conducted along the vehicle’s path down the slope and in the gully. No victims were located.

“It appears that the unoccupied vehicle had been sent down the slope intentionally,” said Molendyk.