PORT HADLOCK – The owner of a stolen boat chartered a plane on Thursday, spotted his boat on state Highway 104 from the air and called the State Patrol.
Two people, who were unidentified because they hadn’t been charged, were arrested on Highway 104 about 12 miles west of the Hood Canal Bridge on investigation of first-degree theft, said Jefferson County Undersheriff Tim Perry.
The owner of the 25-foot to 30-foot Cobalt speed boat, received a tip that his boat had been stolen in Olympia.
The boat owner, who was also not identified, was told that a man and woman were towing the $500,000 boat on a trailer, heading north on U.S. Highway 101.
“I don’t know where he got his information from,” Perry said.
He chartered a plane, spotted the boat and called the State Patrol, who had cruisers follow it, beginning in the Quilcene area.
Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies joined in, and a Port Townsend police officer who was on his way to work also assisted in pulling over the two people at about 4:30 p.m.
“Everybody converged on them,” Perry said.
Perry said law enforcement officers suspect the two of involvement in other boat thefts.
“We believe these people know where other boats are that have been stolen, but we’re still investigating that,” Perry said.
