As the boating and fishing season picks up in the Florida Keys, the Sheriff’s Office has started to see more marine related thefts throughout the county. Just a reminder to everyone to take precautions. Most boat, motor, fishing and diving equipment thefts can be easily prevented with minimum effort on your part.

• On Friday, the property manager of Lion’s Lair trailer park on Grassy Key reported a boat motor missing from a 2016 20 foot long Robaldo boat at the trailer park. The motor, a 2016 Yamaha 150 HP, was last seen at the end of May. The boat belongs to part time tenants at the park who said no one had permission to take it.
• On Saturday, the property manager met with Deputy Shannon Jones to report two part time residents who store their boats on the property were missing the motors from their boats. A resident of the park was walking his dog on Wednesday and noticed they were missing. He said the motors were both their the day before. One of the motors was a 2012 Yamaha four stroke 150 HP and the other was a 2013 Yamaha four stroke 200 HP motor.
• On Sunday, Deputy Anthony Lopez responded to a home on Aster Terrace in Key Haven to a report of the lower unit on a boat motor being stolen. The owner said his boat was parked in his driveway and sometime between Friday and Sunday, someone removed the high-end lower unit from his Mercury 150 HP engine and replaced it with a much cheaper one.
• On June 9th, Deputy Vincent Torres responded to the Edgewater Lodge in Marathon to a report of stolen fishing equipment. The victim, a Lakeworth man, was staying at the hotel, left three fishing poles in the rod holders on his boat the night of the 8th; when he woke up, they were gone. The rods and reels were valued at approximately $800.
• On June 10th, Deputy Rosary Ponce responded to Hawk’s Cay Marine to a report of fishing equipment stolen. The owner said he left his rods and reels in the rod holders on his boat overnight. When he returned in the morning, the most expensive rod and reel combination, which included a Kristal Electric fishing reel valued at $3,000 –  was missing. All his other rods and reels were still on the boat.

There are many ways to secure your boat motor and lower unit; in addition, at the end of the day, remove expensive fishing, diving and electronic equipment from the boat and lock it all up in a secure location. Leaving the equipment on the boat makes it easy pickings for thieves who walk around neighborhoods and marinas just looking for items that are easy to steal.