Between the hours of 10 pm and 3 am this morning two boats were stolen from the south end of Ambergris Caye. We are offering a reward for any information leading up to the recovery of these boats.

One boat is a 30' Bradley Pelican, 200 HP Yamaha 2 stroke, white with ornate blue and black graphics, named Mystic.

Second boat is a 25' Pelican, 115 HP Yamaha 4 stroke, White with a black bottom with SEASIDE REAL ESTATE written on the side.

Please call 610-4911 or 610-2392 with any information. Please leave your name and contact information.

We think these boats are either headed to Belize City for stripping or Mexico. Neither boat had enough gas to get far.

Thank you for any help in this matter!

Oh no. Good luck.

Inform the water taxi's to be on the look out. A friends' boat stolen from St. George's was found adrift near porta stuck completely striped but at least he got the hull back.

I had a boat taken from San Pedro that was found stripped in mangroves on the east of Turneffe.

The search continues today for these two boats. We have reason to believe that these boats have been taken south of the island. If anyone has seen anything, PLEASE call the San Pedro Police or 610-2392!

Fingers crossed that boats come back in good shape.

Photo of the other missing boat:

THE TRAVELINMAN HAS BEEN FOUND AND IS ON ITS WAY HOME!!! WITH ENGINE STILL ATTACHED!!

No sign of Mystical, however.

Great news.. keeping fingers crossed for Mystical.

Congratulations..I hope the other one is found soon!

Great news about Travelinman. Was it just a joyride?

Not just a joyride. They did a bit of damage to the boat when they unsuccessfully tried to remove the engine. They must have given up and abandoned the boat.

I hope the damage is easily fixed. I know how meticulously Josh maintains that boat.

Maybe use a cable lock in future?

Mystical had 2 cable locks on it when it was taken.

JZB. I'm happy that you were able to recover one of your stolen boats.I hope you will also recover the second one.
The most effective way I found to protect my boat from theft was to remove the propeller every time I was not using my boat. It is doubtful that any would be thief would carry a prop around with him/them. I know it can be somewhat of a hassle but well worth it if you are trying to discourage the thief and protect your expensive investment.It's a simple matter of removing a cotter pin and carrying the prop to you home. Good Luck!

Depending on the engine, it's fairly easily possible to modify the electronics so that an additional component is needed to start the engine. That component of course you carry with you. Because it's a non-standard mod no-one has a clue what's wrong and it defeats them. I've never done it with a boat engine, but I have to car and motorcycle engines with apparently great success. Easier with 4-strokes than two, and doesn't work at all with diesel.

Of course, that doesn't stop the theft of prop or lower unit. We had a spate of those thefts a while back, but I haven't heard of any recently.

Thanks Bill. I don't think that would have helped in this case. They towed both boats away. I think we'll just get ourselves a rotweiler and have him sleep in the boat from now on.

LOL! JZB. You can't beat a good watchdog.

Sounds like a Trailer Hitch lock is also called for in your case. I have one on my brothers trailer. Makes it impossible to hook up a vehicle to the trailer when used.

It was towed away in the water! One boat was pulling the two boats. They must have been going VERY slow.

And yet no-one saw them? What time was the theft?

We think the boats were taken around 1:00am and we found someone who saw the three boats in a row shortly before dawn in the drowned cayes area. I guess everyone was still asleep on caye caulker.

Great detective work ! How did you find somebody who saw the boats out before dawn ? This level of networking is really impressive. We could all learn from your experience. SO glad that you found your boat - !

Remember there are fishing camps dotted throughout the islands and they create an impressive network of information - but the trick to getting the info is to ask them specific questions - they won't see something odd and run out to make a report - they are happier to simply work, fish and get on with their own peaceful lives.

By the time Josh spoke with the men out there they had already heard about the missing boats (Thanks to LoveFM). They were more than happy to tell Josh everything they heard and seen, and one gentleman even showed Josh around the area for a couple hours just for some conversation and cigarettes. Its all about getting the word out and talking to as many people as possible!

It'd cost some bucks but an early morning tour in an Astrum helicopter might spot the boats before they got too far. Just a thought for next time...

We chartered a Tropic Plane at first light but wasn't sure what area to pinpoint yet. Ultimately it was Javier's Flying Service who spotted the boat in the end tucked way into some mangroves.

Even unofficially, is there any clue as to who did it?

nope. Maybe we'll know if Mystical is ever found

Josh and his network of contacts, including the South End Police Station SAVED us when everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, we had was stolen last fall. They recovered thousands of dollars of cash, passports and equipment we had and I'll never be able to thank them or praise them enough. We were completely sickened when we saw he had been targeted and hope and pray that the Mystical is now found as well. The theft situation on AC really needs to be resolved if tourism is to not suffer serious consequences as well as residents themselves to feel they are living in an location that they don't have to wonder every 5 seconds if their belongs and security are in jeopardy. I wish we were there now to try and assist in any way to help repay the kindness and peace of mind he provided to us.

All the best!!

The theft situation seems to be very cyclical. slow season = higher rate of theft crimes.

The other boat Mystical was found in Guatemala today and will be returning to the island next week. Not sure of the condition at this time but this is a very promising development.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support as well as information that has lead to the return of these two vessels.

Thanks to the SACNW Patrol, all the emails from various resorts and dive shops around the country of Belize, Marinas in the Rio Dulce and all the fishermen living on the islands around Belize. This was a team effort and it could not have been successful without you. many people took time to make calls and to chase leads. You know who you are.

Thanks

Glad to hear you found it. Love the fact that we now have a good network in place to combat these problems. You have really been instrumental in getting the SACNW effort in place, and we thank you for that. Judy and R.B.

i just got word that now keli's cart is also missing.

its a Black ClubCar that says "I*DO*BELIZEWEDDINGS" all over the cart.

if anyone sees it, please leave a post or contact joe chung.

thanks.

If she isn't here, maybe it's been picked up by the Traffic Dept. Apparently they've been scavenging vehicles they consider to have been abandoned, which to them means unused for a couple of days and not belonging to someone they know.

That is great news about the other missing boat - shows that some persistence can really pay off.

Peter - what evidence do you have that proves this statement?

The vehicle permits state that you must have a private property, off road location to park your vehicle. If somebody locks their vehicle on the street over night they are certainly risking the vehicle being impounded.

Are you saying the traffic department is entering private property and confiscating vehicles? If this is true we will need to investigate this outrageous behavior and punish the louts that are breaking the law.

No, I'm referring to vehicles removed from the streets. There are people here who don't have or don't use private parking spaces. That's true of some of my neighbours, for example.

Then they are contravening the terms of their vehicle permit and therefore they are subject to forfeiture of the permit - and the vehicle.

Selectively applied.

I don't know about the US, but nowhere in Britain is it technically legal to park a vehicle on a public road. Legally it has been abandoned as soon as you get out of it and start to walk away. Not only can it be removed and destroyed, or sold if that is what the authorities choose to do, but you can be fined for depositing litter. This technical position is clearly absurd, and a workable arrangement has evolved, just not so far encompassed in law.

The same law (largely) applies here, and if you leave your golf cart by the side of the road while you're shopping or working you have technically abandoned it. The reality is of course quite different, and it is accepted in normal life that carts are so left. What is different "overnight"? Who is to say what constitutes "night" in this context? It certainly isn't just when it's dark, because it's dark from around 7pm and lots of golf carts are parked by the side of the road, their users shopping or eating. So when does "night" start? When you go to bed? I have neighbours who are up and active while I'm asleep, and vice versa.

The point I'm trying to make is that this "law" is completely contrary to normal practice, and at the end of the day law must be brought into line with common practice. It's how laws usually evolve - a gradual period of increasing "disobedience" that is ignored, followed eventually by a law being completely abandoned. Whether it's ever repealed is beside the point - there are many ancient and obsolete laws that are technically still valid in Britain, and by extension also here in Belize.

The way I understand it is when you apply for a permit to bring a vehicle onto the Island you must prove that you have a private parking spot for it, the authorities do not tow away vehicles unless they are parked on a public road and someone complains about it. For instance if you parked your car on main street and decided to go out of town for a few days chances are it will get confiscated. If you are in town and shopping they won't tow your car.

That must be quite a job keeping track of everyones whereabouts and their activities!

There's been a crashed truck parked outside a neighbour's house for over a week now. It's very unsightly, has sharp jagged edges sticking out, and will never move again under its own power (or so I'm told). I will be surprised if the refuse truck can get past it. Other than simply asking my neighbours to move it, which I don't feel inclined to do, can I anonymously get it removed?

hmm- that crashed vehicle belongs to your neighbour. The best bet is to ask him to move it. But we know he probably won't. You can ask the traffic officers to ask him to move it and threaten him with a ticket - but it seems you might have burned that bridge....

Hands up everybody conversing on this thread that does NOT own a vehicle in San Pedro.

Now, now, play nice.

Hey, shouldn't that be: Simon Says "now, now, place nice."

Since you didn't say Simon says....

It's like people that don't have children telling parents how they should raise their kids.

Why would a thread about vehicle ownership and management be dominated by someone that doesn't own one. And if somebody wants to complain bitterly about the traffic department, and even accuses the department of taking private vehicles - why would he then want to run to them for help (anonymously).

You cannot remain anonymous in this town.

I don't think I've burned any bridges with my neighbours (who do jobs for me) or with the traffic officers (some of whom I know). I just don't want to be seen to cause my neighbours problems. And yes, I'm quite sure it'll still be there in a year's time unless I do do something.

And I do own a vehicle in SP. I don't have possession of it, that is true.

Simon Says - Good one!

Up.

I don't believe that I have yet conversed on this thread, but since you are not happy with non-vehicle owners talking here, I thought I should chime in. I own no vehicles in San Pedro and I hope that if I give my 2 cents, perhaps that will also upset you.

Traffic officers suck. Abandoned vehicles suck. Neighbors suck.

Welcome to the thread - but we've moved on already. Sorry we missed you.

Nah, can't upset me - got other stuff in life to ponder.

"Other than simply asking my neighbours to move it, which I don't feel inclined to do, can I anonymously get it removed?"

Here is one reason anonymous complaints are not proper at least from my point of view. The object of the complaint doesn't know who did it and speculates who it might be and becomes suspicious of many people. It creates turmoil and havoc in people's lives that is needless and mean. Everyone should have a right to face their accuser, yes or no? Peter, you always seem to express yourself well and are reasonable and sincere. Why not tell your neighbor about the hazard he has created and ask him if you can help him abate it by removing the truck. It would be in his best interest. Good luck with the truck.

You sound like a bit of an idealist, Danny. You know it doesn't always work that way. Nor do you know these neighbours. There are times you don't want to stick your head above the parapet.