Fort Myers business says boat motors, trailer stolen from property

A business in Southwest Florida says its property was stolen on Christmas.

Lonnie Bailey, the business operations manager of Latitude Tournament Boats in Fort Myers, said Saturday that two boat motors were stolen from the business during the holiday.

Having to replace thousands of dollars in boat parts wasn’t the Christmas gift that Bailey and the business owner were looking forward to. They hope investigators can find who stole from their business.

For Bailey and the owner, who is his childhood friend, building boats meant to last is more than a means for them to put food on the table, it’s a passion.

“We help everybody and it’s just hard when somebody takes it from you,” Bailey said.

Bailey and the owner went to the shop the day after Christmas to take care of business when they realized important parts were missing.

“We noticed a trailer was stolen over the weekend, which we didn’t know because we weren’t here Christmas Day at all,” Bailey said.

He says everything was caught on camera in broad daylight Christmas morning. The company’s security cameras recorded a silver pickup truck backing up to the trailer on the property, and two people jumped out.

“You know, it’s like getting kicked in the gut,” Bailey said. “It’s just an eerie feeling.”

Less than three minutes later, that same silver truck pulls off with the trailer and two motors.

“There’s a bunch of emotions, you get mad,” Bailey said. “But at the same time, what can you do?”

Bailey says the two people were dressed in all black and masked, and the truck’s license plate was covered.

Bailey and the owner filed a report with the Fort Myers Police Department. They both hope cameras around the neighborhood caught a better glimpse of the truck and can help catch the people responsible.

“They knew what they were doing when they got here,” Bailey said. “Hopefully, someone will see the truck and do the right thing and help us get our motors and our trailer back and salvage something from this.”