A pair of burglars were caught on video sneaking aboard a boat docked on Black Point Marina and making off with equipment, causing a loss of about $18,000.
Travis Cole, the owner of the boat, said he had been home from the hospital for a week, celebrating the birth of his third child, when he decided to check on the boat.
“I pulled up, parked over here, and noticed immediately that the cover wasn't on it, which I found odd,” Cole said. “So I walked over, noticed that it was also untied or incorrectly tied, where it was leaning on the pylon here, rubbing against it. So I fixed the ropes, and then when I came back… and looked over here, I noticed that the Garmins were gone.”
Cole said the crime happened on Labor Day at around 9:15 p.m.
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Surveillance video shows how a car pulls up to the marina and turns the lights off. Two men are then seen scaling around a fence and climbing aboard the vessel, a 2024 model which Cole has only had for five or six months.
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“It's ironic. The day that people are home celebrating Labor Day for hardworking Americans getting a day off, you have these people coming in and plundering like pirates and taking from hardworking people,” Cole said. "It's pretty frustrating and it feels violating."
The burglars made off with the boat cover and technology known by its brand, Garmin, that had fishing and diving data compiled over 10 years, he added. The burglars cut the wires to steal the tech.
“They’ve definitely done this before. This isn’t their first rodeo,” Cole said. "You're looking at around $18,000 for everything... You don't think it's going to happen to you, but here we are today.”
The boat owner said Black Point Marina does have security that checks on the vessels.
“In my opinion, it would be the responsibility of the marina to make sure that things are kept safe. That's why I pay to keep my boat here,” Cole said.
Police are investigating the incident.
