Dude, Where’s My Boat? Washington Man Steals Fishing Vessel with Crew On Board

“Act as if you’ve been there before” is great advice for anyone heading into a new job, business endeavor, hot date or, in this case, commandeering a ship. In a brazen act of theft, one Washington State man hung it all out on the line last month when he decided to steal a commercial fishing boat, complete with crew and all.

During a routine patrol in Westport, WDFW Sergeant Alexander received a radio call about a theft in progress. The stolen vehicle was not a car or motorcycle, but the Jamie Marie, an 80-foot, eight-million-dollar commercial fishing vessel.

The perpetrator had boarded the vessel, awakened the crew, and instructed them to get underway. The newer crew members, unfamiliar with the supposed captain, assumed he was a legitimate operator or a representative of the real captain, especially considering he was able to start and operate the large vessel.

As the vessel moved further out and approached the Grays Harbor bar, nearing the open ocean, the crew began to realize something was amiss. The imposter's talk of meeting a "Chinese Mothership" and his incoherent ramblings were not consistent with the crew’s usual fishing activities.

A call to the actual captain soon confirmed the crew's suspicions. The man operating the boat had no authorization to be on board, let alone operate the vessel. He had, in fact, stolen the Jamie Marie with the crew on board.

The imposter eventually returned the vessel to port, where he was apprehended by Sgt. Alexander and Sgt. Mathews of the Westport Police Department.

Upon his arrest, the imposter was found to be in possession of $4,000 in cash and a substantial quantity of individually weighed and packaged marijuana. Further investigation revealed that the same dude actually had boarded another large vessel earlier that morning and had attempted to start the main engines and enlist the crew for a voyage. 

Sensing something was off, that crew managed to force him off the boat but had not reported the incident until the Jamie Marie theft was already underway and the information was circulating in Westport.

The suspect was booked into jail by the Westport Police Department on charges of Theft 1, Possession of Stolen Property 1, Vehicle Prowl 1, and VUCSA manufacture/delivery.