Police In Rockland County Trying To Solve The Mystery Of A Boat Left In The Middle Of A Road
RAMAPO, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- It's all hands on deck for police in Rockland County as they try to figure out who dropped a 21-foot boat in the middle of a road, and left it there.
The responsible party won't have to walk the plank, but could be hauled into court, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported Thursday.
"I don't know if we'd call it a crime wave, but something's fishy about it," Ramapo Police Capt. Marty Reilly said.
Police are trying to reel in the owner of a fiberglass boat that was left high and dry on West Eckerson Road in Hillcrest on Aug. 15. A week later, the maritime mystery deepened with the discovery of a boat trailer abandoned three miles away.
"You can't just dump a boat in the middle of the road, and you can't abandon a trailer in the road. There's several charges we could go after somebody for," Capt. Reilly said.
MORE: Fed Up Long Island Town Gets Proactive Over Abandoned Boats, Creates Online "Wall Of Shame"
Ramapo police are, yes, casting a wide net trying to find the boat's most recent owner. It was last registered in the state of New York in 2010.
Police can only fathom that the owner felt swamped at the potential expense of deep-sixing the thing legally.
"I would think there's definitely a cost factor in getting rid of them, and might be a little easier for the guy just to dump it on the road and make it somebody else's problem," Reilly said.
John Dinino's towing company hooked the boat and now harbor it at its yard.
When asked when was the last time he heard about someone leaving a boat dropped in the middle of a road, Dinino said, "We haven't seen one in 35 years. That was the last time. But we had a plane that we also picked up one time. We did."
All Dinino needs now is a train, "And then we'd be finished," he said with a laugh.
The mystery of who marooned this castaway craft sails on.
All kidding aside, police said abandoning the boat created a dangerous condition on the road. The craft has been bought and sold repeatedly in the last decade and the current owner is unclear.