Two high-end outboard motors were stolen off boats at H&H Marina in Cortez in late September — possibly part of a broader criminal effort.
Their owners and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report the vessels were on trailers at 12444 Cortez Road W.
Shannon Riley of Bradenton, owner of a 300-horsepower Yamaha motor stolen off a 2017 vessel Sept. 22-23, described the theft. “They broke through the gates and drove through the field,” he said, adding the thieves “cut the wires, the cables and somehow lifted the 600-odd pounds of motor.”
A little more than a week after Riley’s motor was stolen, another motor, a 2009 Yamaha 150, was reported stolen during the hours of 7:15 p.m.-11:40 a.m. Sept. 30-Oct. 1 from the same marina.
Andrew Cochran of Vermont confirmed his motor, valued at $10,000-$20,000, was taken at the marina.
H&H manager Bonnie Denu reported the thieves came “via the waterway,” but the crime is still under investigation by the MCSO.
H&H had been hit in March by a theft of another Yamaha 150 motor.
H&H Marina owners declined comment on the thefts, Denu said.
Longboat Key Detective Sgt. Robert Bourque has been part of an ongoing, multi-jurisdictional law enforcement investigation, working to track thieves stealing boats and boat gear.
He said they are likely part of an organized criminal element, “traveling through the south.”
Thieves may come by land or water, travel with the equipment in large vehicles and ultimately ship stolen items to South America, he said.
MCSO public information director Dave Bristow said there have been no arrests in the boat-motor thefts and declined to comment on suspects.
The two Cortez boat-motor thefts follow a string of boat-related thefts in Manatee County.
“The people who stole the motors and the lower units are probably different people,” Bourque said, adding he thinks he’s closing in on a suspect in a cluster of lower-unit thefts.
Bourque counted 23 lower-unit thefts in 2016, including four from Bradenton Beach, two from Bradenton, two from Palmetto, five from Longboat Key and the remainder from unincorporated Manatee County.
The units typically range in value from $2,500 to $5,000, but a $10,000 value was listed for a unit in a September theft from a boat docked in the 6500 block of Riverview Drive in Bradenton.
MCSO and island police are on the alert.
“We’ve had the guys watching the waterways, the canals and at the boat ramps — extra patrols,” said Holmes Beach Detective Sgt. Brian Hall, adding HBPD hasn’t had a recent motor theft.
Four boats were targeted near 12th Street South in Bradenton Beach in July, when lower units were stolen from boats on lifts at a bayfront community dock.
MCSO Sgt. Russell Schnering reported no recent incidents in Anna Maria.
Before Schnering took the helm at the Anna Maria substation, however, GPS equipment valued at $22,500 and $25,000 was stolen off two boats in February in the 800 block of South Bay Boulevard.
Other concerns
Skip McPadden, general manager of the Bradenton Boat Club, 12160 Cortez Road W., said he’s fortunate his facility hasn’t been hit, but he’s concerned about the H&H motor thefts a few blocks away.
Not only has McPadden stepped up security measures, he said the MCSO is increasing its presence at marinas.
On patrol Oct. 3, an MCSO deputy reported a suspicious gray Dodge with temporary tags near the water at the boat club.
McPadden said the truck was recently purchased by the business but praised law enforcement for their presence, property checks and reports.
“Manatee County, Bradenton and others are patrolling this area,” he added, saying, “I’m very happy about that.”
Another MCSO report is that of a missing jon boat — a 14-foot boat and 25-horsepower motor reported taken from a boathouse Sept. 29-Oct. 4 from the 12400 block of 42nd Avenue Drive West in Cortez.
A person lowered the boat on its lift and left, according to an MCSO report.
Anyone with information on the boat thefts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS.