Coast Guard pursues boat stolen from Naples
01-15-2008, 06:02 AM
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Coast Guard pursues boat stolen from Naples
By RYAN MILLS
Monday, January 14, 2008
The U.S. Coast Guard was in pursuit Monday of a go-fast boat that police believe was stolen during the weekend from a boat lift behind a Naples home.
The boat’s owner, James Coleman, 234 Mermaids Bight, last saw his 38-foot 2005 Fountain Tournament Edition on its lift behind the house on Friday night, according to a police report.
The next morning, the $300,000 boat was gone and there were bare footprints in the dew on the dock next to the lift.
The boat has three 275-horsepower outboard engines, Naples police reported.
Coleman was home when the boat was stolen, authorities said.
“These boat lifts are very quiet,” Naples Detective Seth Finman said. “And a lot of these homes utilize hurricane glass, which is very insulated.”
Finman said he has no doubt the boat theft was related to human smuggling.
Monday morning, the Coast Guard notified Finman that it was in pursuit of a boat matching the description of Coleman’s boat in the waters south of the Florida Keys. The Coast Guard reported that there were two people aboard the boat, Finman said.
Though pursuits of go-fast boats can take hours, Finman said he was confident the Coast Guard would successfully recover the vessel.
“When the boat was stolen it had approximately 300 gallons of fuel on board,” Finman said. “They can go all the way to Cuba. ... On these high-powered vessels that have three outboard engines, they travel approximately 70 mph, which is just as fast, if not faster than the Coast Guard vessel.”
The boat is the second go-fast boat stolen in Collier County during the past few weeks.
About two weeks ago, a 31-foot Pursuit was stolen from a lift in a Marco Island canal, Marco Island police Lt. Dave Baer said.
At least seven high-end boats have disappeared from City of Naples docks since June, authorities said. Other than a 41-foot sailboat stolen in November, police believe all the boats were stolen for human smuggling.
In response to the Naples thefts, Marco police have inventoried all the boats in Marco canals and waterways that meet the parameters typically targeted by thieves, Baer said.
“We ran the boats’ registered owners and basically sent letters to people saying ‘Look, your vessel meets the criteria that sometimes these boat thieves look for,’” Baer said. “Please take precautions to make sure your boat isn’t a target.”
Besides keeping boats on a lift, authorities recommend boat owners rig their lift so it can’t be operated by thieves, lock their boats to the lift, install motion detector lights on their dock, and install an alarm and GPS unit in their boat.
Police also recommend that boat owners consider installing a hidden on-off switch between the ignition and the batteries that thieves would have difficulty finding.
“You want them to look at your boat and go: ‘That’s too much hassle,’” Baer said.
Monday, January 14, 2008
The U.S. Coast Guard was in pursuit Monday of a go-fast boat that police believe was stolen during the weekend from a boat lift behind a Naples home.
The boat’s owner, James Coleman, 234 Mermaids Bight, last saw his 38-foot 2005 Fountain Tournament Edition on its lift behind the house on Friday night, according to a police report.
The next morning, the $300,000 boat was gone and there were bare footprints in the dew on the dock next to the lift.
The boat has three 275-horsepower outboard engines, Naples police reported.
Coleman was home when the boat was stolen, authorities said.
“These boat lifts are very quiet,” Naples Detective Seth Finman said. “And a lot of these homes utilize hurricane glass, which is very insulated.”
Finman said he has no doubt the boat theft was related to human smuggling.
Monday morning, the Coast Guard notified Finman that it was in pursuit of a boat matching the description of Coleman’s boat in the waters south of the Florida Keys. The Coast Guard reported that there were two people aboard the boat, Finman said.
Though pursuits of go-fast boats can take hours, Finman said he was confident the Coast Guard would successfully recover the vessel.
“When the boat was stolen it had approximately 300 gallons of fuel on board,” Finman said. “They can go all the way to Cuba. ... On these high-powered vessels that have three outboard engines, they travel approximately 70 mph, which is just as fast, if not faster than the Coast Guard vessel.”
The boat is the second go-fast boat stolen in Collier County during the past few weeks.
About two weeks ago, a 31-foot Pursuit was stolen from a lift in a Marco Island canal, Marco Island police Lt. Dave Baer said.
At least seven high-end boats have disappeared from City of Naples docks since June, authorities said. Other than a 41-foot sailboat stolen in November, police believe all the boats were stolen for human smuggling.
In response to the Naples thefts, Marco police have inventoried all the boats in Marco canals and waterways that meet the parameters typically targeted by thieves, Baer said.
“We ran the boats’ registered owners and basically sent letters to people saying ‘Look, your vessel meets the criteria that sometimes these boat thieves look for,’” Baer said. “Please take precautions to make sure your boat isn’t a target.”
Besides keeping boats on a lift, authorities recommend boat owners rig their lift so it can’t be operated by thieves, lock their boats to the lift, install motion detector lights on their dock, and install an alarm and GPS unit in their boat.
Police also recommend that boat owners consider installing a hidden on-off switch between the ignition and the batteries that thieves would have difficulty finding.
“You want them to look at your boat and go: ‘That’s too much hassle,’” Baer said.
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