Category: St. Lucia

DATE: 2019-02-16 02:00
Country Name: St. Lucia
Location Detail: Rodney Bay Gros Islet
EVENT: Theft
HAND: 1
Stolen Items: 10′ west marine tender with 9.9 HP Mercury outboard
SECURED: Locked
DETAILS: A yacht anchored off Gros Islet had its new in-the-water and cable locked dinghy/outboard stolen overnight. A police report was made by phone, and the victims were promised an onboard investigation, but it did not happen. The victims flagged down a passing marine police boat, who also seemed disinterested.

DATE: 2018-12-16 17:00
Country Name: St. Lucia
Location Detail: Marigot
EVENT: Theft
HAND: 1
Stolen Items: Cash, credit cards, 3 iPhones, iPad, handbag and 6 bottles of rum
SECURED: Not Locked
DETAILS: A monohull anchored in an area north of the Marigot Bay harbor and south of Castries. No other yachts were nearby.

All 3 onboard went for a snorkel nearby (about 30 meters away) and did not lock the boat. A local transport boat was waiting to unload and anchored about 100 meters away and witnessed the boarding and theft that occurred during the 30-40 minutes the crew was snorkeling. One swimmer kept a watch while 3 others boarded and ransacked the yacht, stealing cash, credit cards, iPhones, iPad, a purse and rum, leaving behind wet footprints that the victims discovered on their return.

The witnesses on the nearby boat assisted the victims in making contact with the police. The victims made their first report at the local police station and were told to collect it at a different station. Two days later at the second station, the report seemed to have been “misplaced” when they went to collect it, and they were told to return the next day. They returned, but the report could still not be found, so a new report was completed.

The victims indicate that the police seemed disinterested, and they failed to collect any meaningful information (a good description of one of the thieves was available, but not recorded). The subsequent investigation onboard included only photos of areas irrelevant to the theft, and no forensic/fingerprint analysis.