UPDATE:

Officials have reopened Highway 178 after a stolen car went off the side of the road just before 2:30 a.m., according to CHP.

Crews worked for hours to recover the car which fell about four miles into the Kern Canyon.

ORIGINAL:
Highway 178 is scheduled to be closed down starting at 9 a.m. as crews recover a vehicle that went off the side of the road early Monday morning.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a stolen car went off Highway 178 just before 2:30 a.m. Monday, about four miles into the Kern Canyon.

The driver of the car has not been found and the CHP says no one was in the car.

The CHP initially said the car would be pulled out of the canyon by a tow truck at sunrise. At around 4:45 a.m., a tow truck arrived and was set to pull the vehicle. The CHP shut down the 178, saying it would be 'a couple of hours' before it was re-opened. Just before 5 a.m. the CHP re-opened 178, saying the car would be towed at sunrise, after all. It is now scheduled to close at 9 a.m. and re-open around 10 a.m.