CAMAS — Ernie Stille stashed a motion-sensor light in his fishing boat moored at the Port of Camas-Washougal marina, planning to hook it up in a couple of days above his boat slip.
The idea was to illuminate the dock so the retired, disabled millwright from Camas could safely board his boat in the early morning darkness, and to startle would-be thieves.
But when Stille, 50, showed up Jan. 31 with his brother-in-law to install the light, it was gone. Thieves had stolen it, easily breaking in through the zippered canvas top of his 20-foot boat. Thieves also had entered 10 other boats at the marina over the weekend, according to David Ripp, the port’s executive director.
The marina has 350 boat slips, of which about 85 percent are occupied, Ripp said.
Stille lost an electric skillet, a barbecue, a new digital fish scale and a coffee pot in the burglary — and it was the second time in less than a year he’d been victimized. When thieves prowled the marina in July, the salmon angler lost $2,600 worth of fishing gear, including lures that had belonged to his father. Making matters worse, the crime occurred during fishing season.
