CLEVELAND — A Coast Guard boatcrew recovered a stolen boat near Sea Gull Marina in Two Rivers, Wis., Tuesday morning.
Just before 9 a.m. CDT, the communications watchstander at Coast Guard Station Two Rivers notified search-and-rescue controllers at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan in Milwaukee that they had received a report of a stolen vessel near Sea Gull Marina in Two Rivers.
The reporting source told the station watchstander that he witnessed a 16-year-old male climbed into the vessel that was moored next to his. He stated that, because he did not recognize the boy as being the owner, he questioned him. The boy started the engine and departed the marina toward the Two Rivers pierheads.
A Station Two Rivers boatcrew responded aboard a 41-foot Utility Boat and located the vessel and its operator near the entrance of the pierheads.
They took the boy into custody, took the vessel in side-tow, and transported both to the station.
The vessel owner’s wife arrived at the station and verified ownership. She also confirmed that she did not know the boy.
The Two Rivers Police Department took the boy into custody and transported him to the Two Rivers Police Department Headquarters.
The Station Two Rivers boarding officer issued a civil penalty for theft of a vessel.
“We applaud the man who reported the stolen vessel for his vigilance and ask all boaters to look out for their fellow mariners when spending time on the water,” said Charles Wolfson, a command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan. “If citizens see potentially unsafe activity, such as mariners boating under the influence, criminal or other suspicious activity, they shouldn’t hesitate to report it to local authorities or the nearest Coast Guard unit.”
