Stolen boat recovered

Longboat Key Police Chief Al Hogle said patrol officer Dennis Silverio Jr. and two U.S. Coast Guard officers assisted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Saturday, Oct. 24 in retrieving a 30-foot Grady-White boat from the hands of two burglars during a high-speed chase.

Silverio spotted the boat, which was stolen from a resident’s dock on Anna Maria Island, near Cannons Marina and assisted a U.S. Customs boat in retrieving the vessel a half-mile offshore after the two men on board jumped ship. A U.S. Customs agent succeeded in shooting out one of the boat’s engines to slow down the fast-moving boat. The bullet released a chemical agent that disabled the motor. The burglars could not be located.

Hogle said the department has been working with FDLE for several months in the boat-theft investigation.