NEWS

Another stolen lifeguard stand bobs into view

robin brown
The News Journal
A crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Station Indian River Inlet on Monday retrieves one of the lifeguard stands discovered stolen Thursday in Rehoboth Beach.

Another one of the Rehoboth Beach Patrol's stolen lifeguard stands has been spotted, city police said Tuesday.

"That would be No. 5," Lt. William L. Sullivan said.

The fifth of seven lifeguard stands discovered stolen Thursday morning was spotted Tuesday bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, in the area of 120th St., Sullivan said.

Two have been brought ashore by U.S. Coast Guard crews based at Indian River and Ocean City, Maryland. Another was towed in by Mark Sampson to the West Ocean City Fishing Center, where he has a shark fishing business.

A fourth came ashore on its own, washing up Monday on a private beach in the oceanside Cotton Patch community.

They were stolen from the beaches off Brooklyn, Laurel, Hickman, Stockley, Norfolk, St. Lawrence and Prospect.

"It's not something we see every day," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Collin Snovell, a boatswain's mate at Station Indian River Inlet said in a statement from the Coast Guard. "It was a challenge once we got alongside the chair and realized how big it actually was."

After spotting one of the stands on Monday, Snovell said, he and his fellow crew members considered towing it to shore.

A U.S. Coast Guard crew member took this photo of one of Rehoboth Beach Patrol’s stolen lifeguard stands bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean before its retrieval on Monday.

But he and the crew "ultimately agreed that would've created too much drag," the Coast Guard said.

"It was a challenge getting it on the boat, but once we did, we felt comfortable bringing it in," Snovell said.

Even with a 24-foot boat that has a beam or width of 8 feet 6 inches, the lifeguard stand hung over both sides of the craft after it was brought aboard.

Like Rehoboth Beach Patrol Capt. Kent Buckson, the Coast Guard warned of the massive stands, each more than 500 pounds, posing a serious marine threat.

"When people do stuff like this – putting those chairs in the water – not only is it unfair to the people who volunteer their time to pull people out of the water, but it's a serious hazard to navigation," Snovell said. "Something that big and that heavy, if you hit that in a fiberglass boat, it could really mess your day up."

The Rehoboth Beach Patrol, which used back-up stands to continue service in the areas where they were stolen, is making plans to retrieve the ones that have been recovered. They are believed to be undamaged, except for lost paint, but are to be inspected before they are used again.

Police continue to investigate the felony theft of the stands, worth a total of $5,600, Sullivan said.

Anyone who spots one in the water or has tips about their theft is asked to call Detective Tyler Whitman at (302) 227-2577. Boaters who spot anything suspicious in the water also may contact the Coast Guard via VHF Channel 16.

Contact robin brown at (302) 324-2856 or rbrown@delawareonline.com. Find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @rbrowndelaware.