# Boat stolen



## Szoccer (Jan 24, 2011)

So I just had something really weird happen that I've never heard of. I walk outside today to catch a flight, and notice my boat is gone out of the lot next to my apartments where it is kept. It was stolen. I had jumped in the car with a friend cause we were gonna run to the police station right down the street real quick, and wouldn't you know, I see my boat GOING THE OTHER WAY!!!! We made a quick u-turn and followed it...all the way back into the lot where it belongs. we questioned the guy and called the cops.

His story was that someone had paid him to pick the boat up, take it to their marina (which he claimed was next to joe patti's, although I called Yaht Harbor and the 2 associated with it, and the owner said he had no boats even of my make come in), and then bring it back. He gave me a number, which was not in service. The name he gave was "Mark Bryant."

Now its already weird enough that someone would steal a boat, then bring it right back. Additionally, nothing was taken from the boat, it wasn't detailed or cleaned, and apparently it was gone for about 7 hours. I have contacted no one to do any kind of work on it.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any idea of what might have happened. Is this just a case of mistaken identity that lasted all day, or some kind of weird stakeout or some sort of drug operation haha. Please comment and shed some light on this, cause I'm beyond confused.

BTW it was a 25' Grady White with twin 200's. I just recently got it, registration is out of date, and there are no tags on the trailer right now.


----------



## Gonzo (Sep 17, 2010)

Maybe someone was going to take it to Tim Foose from Overhaulin to Overhaul your boat! Maybe you would have gotten it back with some pin stripes and some bored out motors!! :blink: Just kidding, glad you got it back. Time to make sure it's secured better!!


----------



## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

So, what did the Police say? Did they show up and question the fella that was bringing the boat back?


----------



## Szoccer (Jan 24, 2011)

yeah, they questioned him, as did i. They said I could press charges because it was stolen for a bit, but nothing was gone!! I had the whole thing documented and we know who to go to if anything happens. BTW anyone know of MBM detailing or marina or something of the sort?


----------



## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

hummm, sounds to me like the guy was to pick up a boat, picked up the wrong one and was taking it back. I could see how it could happen, but I'll admit, it's one for the books to remember......


----------



## Szoccer (Jan 24, 2011)

yeah, that sounds kinda likely...excpet the marinas said not only had they not seen a grady in a while, but weren't expecting one, and apparently it was gone all day, and none of his supplied phone numbers worked. And he wasn't with a company, it was "word of mouth" stuff. Just very very odd and no story worked out


----------



## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

who, knows..... run a chain throught the wheels and lock the reciever and all that...... strange, but I can see how someone could lick up the wrong boat..... could be a mistake (big mistake) but at least the guy was bringing it back.....


----------



## CootCommander (Aug 24, 2008)

You have any fuel in it?


And a simple hitch lock would prevent an honest mistake, if it was one.


----------



## Szoccer (Jan 24, 2011)

didn't even think about the fuel. I'm going to check that, it did have it in it at one point.

One more thing on the case of "mistaken identity." I asked him "exactly what did the guy who told you to pick it up say," and he just started describing my boat and the lot it is in. There are only 3 boats total there.

Getting a lock now.


----------



## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

good thought about the fuel, but if someone drug it off the lot to steal the fuel, I think they would have left it sit where they was emptied.....
you have a weird situation here for sure


----------



## Sailing_Faith (Mar 11, 2009)

Sounds like a craigs list scam for me.

Someone 'sold' your boat today. They had probably taken pictures and posted it on either Craigs list or on Ebay. They brought it to the marina so the buyer could 'inspect' it before paying them.

Someone ripped someone off using your boat, and it is not unlikely that they have the HIN or the registration numbers... and think it belongs to them.


----------



## Flatspro (Oct 3, 2007)

Wirelessly posted

Trailer lock???


----------



## bonita dan (Oct 3, 2007)

Mistake or not,someones going to jail or a funeral home if it was my boat. Just sayin.


----------



## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

nobody's gonna steal your boat, Dan... :whistling:


----------



## bonita dan (Oct 3, 2007)

Shut up John! They just might. :thumbup:


----------



## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

Can anybody recommend a good way to lock the wheels (like what Realtor mentioned)?


----------



## EODangler (Apr 7, 2011)

I bought one of these...

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Reese-Towpower-Universal-Coupler-Lock/15125814?findingMethod=rr


----------



## SHunter (Jun 19, 2009)

We use a trailer lock and a boot for the wheel.


----------



## Fishin Ski (Apr 27, 2011)

Sounds like someone needed a boat to catch some snapper :boat:


----------



## leeprice72 (Oct 3, 2007)

Sounds like your boat got stolen and then the guy had second thoughts. Mine sits in my driveway and my truck is in front of it at night but I will be buying a lock today.


----------



## snookman (Aug 7, 2010)

Thats definitely a weird situation to be in. Its a position to whats the truth. could this guy be mislead or maybe he knew what he was doing was wrong and had second thoughts? Times are really tough and people are doing things that maybe they wouldn't. Its a lot of go nans to bring something back to where it came from, he could have just left it along the road opening it up other thieves that could have cared less. I know when my trailer had a flat tire along Olive Rd at 9:00 at night. Thankfully my wife stayed with the truck. Even with the boat still attached to the truck. some guy stopped and was heading back to the boat when he noticed my wife and turned around and went back to his truck. that told me he was looking for something to teal out of the boat. people are just weird at times.


im glad you got the boat back and it wasn't torn up.


----------



## Bonsaifishrman (Mar 17, 2009)

Someone is blowing smoke all over this one and the man should have been arrested until he started to give the correct answers as to who, what, why, where and when.


----------



## CCC (Sep 3, 2008)

You seem like a VERY easy going guy, since I know I will not get shot, nor even an @ss whoopin for borrowing your boat for the day where exactly is the boat parked, I have some friends I would like to take out next weekend for about 7 hours, will bring it right back when we are done.


----------



## 20simmons sea skiff (Aug 20, 2010)

do u still have power heads under cowlings. i knew people test drive a car and steal performance parts off them and then return


----------



## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Bonsaifishrman said:


> Someone is blowing smoke all over this one and the man should have been arrested until he started to give the correct answers as to who, what, why, where and when.


+1,000,000 That guy would've sat in handcuffs until he could provide a phone number that worked and some more info for his story.


----------



## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

Bonsaifishrman said:


> Someone is blowing smoke all over this one and the man should have been arrested until he started to give the correct answers as to who, what, why, where and when.


Yeah, I agree.

Edit: Also, if you transferred the title, you should have the registration and plate already if you are in Florida.


----------



## DragonSlayer (Nov 2, 2007)

It just don't add up. Maybe the guy speaks the truth....seems odd. I'm glad your boat got back home, better get some locks and stuff.


----------



## wackydaddy (Jul 24, 2009)

EODangler said:


> I bought one of these...
> 
> http://www.walmart.com/ip/Reese-Towpower-Universal-Coupler-Lock/15125814?findingMethod=rr


Here is a better deal available in store http://www.walmart.com/ip/Reese-Towpower-Keyed-Alike-Lock-Kit/15125826


----------



## Mikelkey (Nov 6, 2011)

Sailing_Faith said:


> Sounds like a craigs list scam for me.
> 
> Someone 'sold' your boat today. They had probably taken pictures and posted it on either Craigs list or on Ebay. They brought it to the marina so the buyer could 'inspect' it before paying them.
> 
> Someone ripped someone off using your boat, and it is not unlikely that they have the HIN or the registration numbers... and think it belongs to them.


This scenario sounds the most likely.

Either that or you will be getting a call from a prankster friend later today or you really ticked off someone you know.


----------



## Getsome (Sep 28, 2007)

I know what he was doing with your boat. I had some aluminum roofing stolen last week so I called the SRSO. I spoke in depth with a very pleasant investigator who told me some of the scams they have busted up. Here is one scenario that describes what happened to you:

Man spots your boat, he starts watching it and you so he has a good idea of when you come and go. 

He runs an add on Craig's List with your boat for sale. He sets up a meeting place with a potential buyer. He comes and hooks up to your boat and takes it to the buyer and sells it. 

He has stolen and sold your boat with very little exposure. Cops told me that it's hard to catch this kind of thief because he has possession for so little time. 
Check Craig's List and see if your boats been running on there.


----------



## blkwtr (Oct 6, 2007)

Make sure you keep it full of gas in case I want to borrow it.


----------



## hogdogs (Apr 19, 2010)

The scam mentioned works best late afternoon friday until sunday.

Seller cannot do all of the paper work transaction until monday, or so he says...

He takes a nice deposit for the deal and will hold the boat until monday when he can complete the deal...

First thing monday morning that check is CASHED and the $40 dollar prepay phone is sacrificed as a pawn into the nearest creek...

Brent


----------



## lsucole (May 7, 2009)

You are VERY ungrateful--- the next time I use your boat the least you could do is clean my fish when I bring it back and NOT call the cops ! As for borrowing you house and wife ------------ well ???

I am going with the Craig's list scam idea, the same thing happened to a friend of mine on a 4 wheeler in Louisiana.


----------



## saltwater redneck (Aug 8, 2011)

If i caught someone stealing my boat they would have a long time to think about how big a mistake that was. i would have to pack a lunch to get through the ass whoopin i would give them.:2guns:thieves:thumbdown:


----------



## Faithnfishin (Dec 5, 2010)

This is nuts, did the police run a background check on the guy? Did he have any history of criminal activity in the past? None of this is really adding up, if I were the police I would have asked the guy to take me to the person whom he supposedly was working with and when that got cloudy I would have taken him out back and get the truth. This whole story smells a little like tuna fish.


----------



## TailRazor (Apr 25, 2011)

So what exactly did the cop say or advise you to do? This sounds like a bunch of BS to me.


----------



## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

Having a hard time believing the law enforcement officer would just let them go.


----------



## Szoccer (Jan 24, 2011)

If it smelled like tuna fish, then I'd day it smells pretty good haha...

but yes, the whole thing was fishy and odd. The 2 cops who showed up ran the background check, questioned the guy and wrote a report. The check came up just with a petty theft charge from over 10 years ago. I did not catch him stealing it, i caught him returning it.

The cops said I could press charges, it was all up to me. Truthfully, I just didn't want to have another thing on my plate to be messing with right now, I hate more paperwork.

But my real thinking behind not pressing charges was that now we had all this guys information, we did write a formal report on the whole thing, and if it ever does get stolen, we know exactly who we're going to. He and whatever goonies he might e working with will think twice about taking my boat again, knowing that if its gone we're going straight to them.

I might be stupid for letting him go, but its over now and I have everything safe and sound. In other states I wouldn't even have the option of pressing charges because nothing was ultimately stolen (if it was used, gas was stolen, and there are other ways to get around that of course).


----------



## fishn4real (Sep 28, 2007)

aroundthehorn said:


> Yeah, I agree.
> 
> Edit: Also, if you transferred the title, you should have the registration and plate already if you are in Florida.


Fishy? An untitled, unregistered boat parked where it can be hooked to and pulled away, stolen, then coincidentally sighted by the owner being returned by the perps, LEO letting perps walk without going into further investigation, owner not pressing charges.

The craigslist scam does happen.

Interesting read but I guess I'm gonna throw the BS flag on this one.


----------



## Szoccer (Jan 24, 2011)

BS flag on what? haaha

It's an Alabama boat, bought 2 weeks before stolen, and was working on getting the new FL title and registration, was just waiting on some paperwork. Not sure what you're "BS flagging", but ok....

Just want everyone to be aware and I'm glad to find out what this most likely is. Charges getting pressed if there's a next time for sure. Thanks for all the input everyone, happy fishing.


----------



## MaxBlast (Dec 31, 2011)

This spring I was expanding a small garden in my back yard, in a country club community. One morning I walk out and notice foot prints in the edge.. over looking the fence into my neighbor's yard. He has a very nice new boat. 

So I walk around and see footprints near his gate, but that gate does not work. 

Later I talk to the guy and ask him if he has a trailer lock on the boat, and his other gate? Nope, he tells me. 

I explained what I think is happening.. Someone is casing his boat.. and I've heard many power boats are stolen here and taken to S. Fla to run drugs. Maybe he should lock it up. 

Then I installed gates on my own property, with double locks. 

It takes nerve to walk into someone's back yard, that you do not even know !


----------

