Stolen Naples charter boat found stripped near Miami

NAPLES, Fla.- Less than 48 hours after it was stolen, a Naples captain’s charter boat was located in a junkyard in Homestead, near Miami.

“It’s in pretty rough shape,” said Captain Michael Avinon. “All of the equipment was stolen off of it.”

Miami-Dade police found the boat on Saturday after it was taken from Brookside Marine Service off Davis Boulevard last Thursday night. Thieves cut a hole in a side fence and were seen on surveillance videos opening the main gate and hooking the boat up to a truck before taking off.

To protect your property, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office recommends purchasing a lock to put over your boat motor or installing a satellite GPS that can send an alert to your phone immediately.

“You’re not going to take away the desire for a criminal to want to steal boats or boat motors or them targeting victims,” said Sgt. Rebecca Gonzalez, “but what you can do is take away the opportunities for them to commit the crime in the first place.”

The thieves that stole Avinon’s boat have not yet been located by authorities.