Arrests Follow Distress Call From Sailboat
Harbor Patrol officers who answered a distress call from a sailboat taking on water arrested six teenagers Wednesday aboard the stolen boat.
Hot Tip, a 27-foot Catalina, had been reported missing from Long Beach on Tuesday night, Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Jay Mendez said. A boater about 10 miles off the Dana Point coast noticed a nearby boat adrift about 9:15 a.m. and radioed in the trouble when the teens said they were taking on water.
“As soon as he gave us the information, we knew it was a stolen boat,” said Sgt. Paul Falk of the Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol.
Two Harbor Patrol boats and a Coast Guard helicopter surprised the youths and took them into custody on suspicion of possessing stolen property.
The teens are from Brea, Santa Ana and Anaheim, Falk said. Five of them were released to their parents and the sixth was held in Orange County Juvenile Hall on an outstanding robbery warrant.
The Harbor Patrol usually responds to distress calls within three miles of shore and notifies the Coast Guard of trouble farther out. But the county agency will respond in the case of a felony or a life-threatening situation, Falk said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
