The Port of Camas-Washougal once again alerted its tenants of a boat theft, which happened over the weekend and marks the fourth such incident in three months.
Washougal police are investigating the thefts and believe they could be related, Detective Kate Tierney said.
“This morning it was brought to our attention by the (U.S.) Coast Guard that another boat had been stolen over the weekend,” port CEO David Ripp said in an advisory Monday.
Facilities Manager Jeramy Wilcox said the port is working under the assumption that the theft happened between the night of Nov. 2 and Saturday morning. The boat was stolen from the D dock. It was found about 200 yards upriver from the marina Sunday, Wilcox said, adding that he was reviewing surveillance footage but had yet to come across anything pertinent as of Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the boat sank in 35 feet of water, Tierney said. Officers were dispatched for a report of a suspicious unoccupied boat, she said, but by the time police arrived, it was submerged in the Columbia River.
“It was already taking on water, and it sank quickly,” she said.
It’s currently unknown who owns the boat. Clark County Marine Patrol officers will try to dive down to the boat in the next couple of days to obtain the hull number, Tierney said.
The port sent out an initial theft advisory in late October following what was described as three targeted boat thefts, including one incident involving a suspect in a wetsuit who waded through water to gain access to the locked marina.
Wilcox previously told The Columbian that the thefts happened Sept. 2 and 9 and Oct. 19. Newly installed security cameras were working well, he said, and there was clear footage of two of the thefts captured by several cameras in the marina area.
Both Ripp and Wilcox said they have never seen a similar rash of thefts at the port, or anything as peculiar as someone donning diving gear to take off with a boat.
Items were stolen and equipment was stripped from the stolen boats, Tierney said.
“But we don’t know why they’d be taken out of the marina just to do that; maybe so the thieves have more time? We’re trying to figure it out,” she said.
Anyone with information about the thefts should call the Washougal Police Department.
