A boat was stolen from a Southwest Miami-Dade home and the entire incident was caught on camera.
Surveillance cameras were rolling as two men stole the boat from the side of a home near 44th Avenue and 13th Street, while the owner was sleeping inside. The incident happened at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday.
The thieves were in no rush and came prepared, as it took them about an hour to steal the 32-foot sailfish vessel.
Sergio Valiente owns the boat and posted the videos on the South Florida Marina and Boat Watch Facebook group.
Last month, NBC6 Investigator Willard Shepard interviewed one of the founders of the group who explained it’s a community effort to deter this type of crime.
“We figured what a better way to get pictures up on the site. Rather than hearing it third hand, somebody got a boat stolen or motor stolen, let’s invite everybody to join this group and start posting pictures,” said Bruce Marx, the group’s administrator.
More than 6,000 vessel owners have jumped on board and share information on how they were victimized and who to be on the lookout for.
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The boat bandits managed to push the owner’s pickup truck out of the way. The truck was purposely parked in front of the boat to avoid theft.
According to the owner, police recovered the vessel nearby within hours. However, the crooks stole both motors, the power steering system, the GPS and the radar. The owner estimates he lost about $100,000 worth of items.
Anyone with information on this crime is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. A tip leading to an arrest could result in a $3,000 reward.
