Nicholas Feliciano got a message from a friend around noon on Thursday with a photo of a red 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee stuck on Myrtle Beach in South Carolina getting pummeled by waves.

Mr. Feliciano zoomed in on the photo, and soon realized that the vehicle was his.

He had lent it to his cousin, Joe Farrar, a few weeks before.

Two minutes after getting the message , Mr. Feliciano said, the police knocked on his door to tell him they had found his Jeep.

Mr. Farrar was driving on the beach around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, trying to get a picture of the sunrise before Hurricane Dorian hit, Mr. Feliciano said on Saturday.