Ottawa police confirmed the bodies of a 61-year-old woman and her adult son were found inside a car recovered from the Ottawa River.

Donna Graves and Daron Graves, 29, of Ottawa were reported missing Thursday night.

David Graves, who lives footsteps away from where the bodies were found, said his wife and son were playing pool at The Prior Sports Bar and Restaurant in nearby Arnprior, Ont., at about 11 p.m. ET.

They told him they were coming home, but never arrived. Daron's 2013 Dodge Dart was found Saturday night and pulled out of the water midnight Monday.

Police have since confirmed the mother and son were inside.

"From the moment I knew my wife was missing, I knew something was wrong," said David Graves.

Toxicology tests ordered

Autopsies and toxicology tests will be carried out on the bodies of Donna and Daron Graves this week, but David Graves insisted his son would not drink and drive and he was not a reckless driver.

Daron also was not depressed, his father said.

Police investigators said Wednesday there were skidmarks along the road leading to where the vehicle went into the river and the airbag was also deployed.

Police spent two days trying to recover the black 2013 Dodge Dart from the river in Fitzroy Harbour near the Quyon Ferry, at Ottawa's western edge.

Originally, police also reported just one body was located inside the vehicle, but two bodies were found after the vehicle was removed at about 11:40 p.m. ET Monday.

Police were able to pull the car from the river after they used explosives late Monday night to blow a hole in the ice. The efforts to recover the car were delayed due to a temperature that felt like -30 C with the windchill on Monday.

Dog rescued from river 4 days earlier

On Tuesday, Graves chose to reflect on a recent rescue on the river in front of their home after Daron's dog Amira went through the ice.

"I called him up, I said, 'I need your help, we gotta get Amira out of the river,'" recalled Graves.

David Graves told CBC News Tuesday his wife and son were found dead inside his son's car overnight. (CBC)

The father and son pushed an aluminum boat out onto the ice and clawed their way toward the dog.

"Amira was hanging on and we're talking to her, 'We're coming, we're coming, we're coming.'"

Finally, both reached the dog and Daron grabbed on to Amira.

"I looked at my son and I said, 'Daron, I can't tell you how proud I am of you," David Graves said.

Four days later, Daron and his mother fell through the same ice after the car they were in plunged off the end of Ferry Road and into the Ottawa River.

Investigators are examining Daron's car to see whether a mechanical malfunction may have contributed to the crash, which is being examined as a traffic collision.