Search is on for Fort Myers Beach man’s stolen boat

A Fort Myers Beach man’s boat was stolen, and his neighbor’s surveillance video will hopefully help to crack the case.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Jason Quilling. “It was just gone that fast.”

The surveillance video shows thieves dropped the boat in the water, but unfortunately, someone else beat him to it.

“Thought it was a mistake. Shut it off. Went back to it,” Quilling said. “Sure enough the boat was gone.”

This surveillance video shows the accused thieves of passing by a neighbor’s dock last week.

“There’s no power to the boat lift,” Quilling said. “They figured out how to get some power to it, drop the boat in the water, figured out how to start it and drove away.”

Quilling just bought the 30-foot, $350,000 boat in May.

“It’s a beautiful blue boat,” Quilling said. “It will stand out in a crowd, it’s Chris craft newest boat.”

It ways just days away from being named “Tina Marie,” after his wife.

Quilling said his neighbor’s surveillance camera also shows the thieves days before, allegedly planning the high-end heist.

“You can see three to four individuals park in the neighbors street on Hercules which my neighbors camera was cut the day before so they were staking the property,” Quilling said. “Now I feel everybody’s watching me and they’re casing the place out so really uneasy feeling.”

The owner believes the thieves operate out of Miami.

Anyone with information should contact the sheriff’s office at 239-477-1000.