"Fishy" story from Vero Beach FL

[stevek185]

This seems a little fishy to me. I was thinking it was scuttled for insurance purposes when I first heard it, but now that the boat is not registered I doubt they had insurance. No missing persons report either.

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_indian_river_county/vero_beach/boat-washes-ashore-near-vero-beach%2C-as-many-as-3-divers-unaccounted-for

Posted: 08/04/2010

Last Updated: 14 hours and 15 minutes ago

By: Jon Shainman

VERO BEACH, Fla. - When Dave Jenkins took his dog Domingo out for a walk Wednesday morning, he was surprised to see an abandoned boat that had washed ashore just north of Round Island Park. The park sits just north of the Indian River/St. Lucie County line.

"The boat was abandoned, half covered in sand and had about 8 or 10 PFDs, personal flotation devices, strewn about there," said Jenkins.

The boat was first spotted late Tuesday night with three people believed to be fishing or snorkeling. Then around 1:30 Wednesday morning, a resident called in after the boat ran aground and no one was spotted on board.

Using a boat and a helicopter, the U. S. Coast Guard searched the ocean for hours, stopping around 10:15. Residents say there was also at least one immigration agent on scene and a tracking dog. It was a lot of activity for a traditionally quiet stretch of beach.

"Normally you see about three people on the beach, this was a crowd of seven," said Simon Jenkins a little tongue-in-cheek.

The boat is named the "Shorty Purdue" and was at one time based out of Islamorada.

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife agents, the boat is not currently registered. It had been sold by a New Jersey resident about a year ago, but that owner has since died.

Authorities have not received any missing person reports and the boat has not been reported stolen. The Coast Guard said it would be working on getting a salvage crew to remove the boat.

[wiley]

Stolen, then used for human trafficing?

I have personally taken photos of 3 such incidents of boats simply washed up on the beach with nobody claiming them.

[stevek185]

Stolen, then used for human trafficing?

I have personally taken photos of 3 such incidents of boats simply washed up on the beach with nobody claiming them.

That was my original thought too, but it's an 18' Sunbird. While it wouldn't look like a normal trafficing boat, I don't think it would hold many people either.

[wiley]

Hmmm... not normally... but West End to Vero on a Summer night in an 18' shouldn't be much of a problem.

Ya never know. Sure beats a raft.