Stolen Boat Found Aground on Island
A crew aboard a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter Wednesday found a stolen fishing vessel after it ran aground on Santa Cruz Island.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Kien Pham said three men were spotted on the island fleeing the boat about 2:50 p.m., but the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department could not be reached Wednesday evening to confirm any arrests in the case.
Pham said officials with the U.S. National Park Service called the Coast Guard at 1:45 p.m. to report a fishing boat had slammed into the coastline near Yellow Banks Anchorage.
After the first call, Pham said, the Coast Guard received another report that a fishing boat, the Dave Starbuck, which is normally berthed at Channel Islands Harbor near Oxnard, had been stolen.
When the helicopter arrived at the island, life jackets were spotted floating in the vicinity of the stolen Dave Starbuck, but no one was found in the water.
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