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.