Local boat owner commandeered into wild police chase

DES MOINES, Wash. — It was supposed to be an easy Saturday boat ride in Puget Sound. When Kurt Bray and his family stopped for gas and ice cream at the Des Moines Marina, the last thing Bray expected was to lead a white-knuckle police boat chase -- with a speeding yacht.

But that's exactly what happened.

It started when Des Moines police ordered the owner of an old yacht to give himself up after a woman on board was heard screaming for help. Multiple people in the marina called 911, according to police.

"The (owner of the yacht) took off," said Bray. "He was cutting his lines and pulling away from the dock and there was nothing the police could do, really."

People in the marina began snapping photos as the yacht sped away. "One of the cops turned around and said to me, 'Hey! You! Come over here!' And I looked around and I said, 'me?'"

While Bray's family was on land buying ice cream, his boat was commandeered by an officer. "He just hopped in and said 'Follow that boat'," said Bray. "And I said 'Yes sir!' And I gunned it out of the harbor."

As they raced toward the yacht, Bray noticed the officer had no lifejacket. "I handed him one of these (life vests) and said 'Hey, let's at least look the part out there, right?'"

But the speeding yacht would not stop.

"As soon as it saw us, it started doing these S-curves and they would not stop," said Bray. "They would slow down and speed up, and the officer, he was just cool and calm."

It took 20 minutes for police in a second boat to catch up and finally end the chase. "They gunned it after them and that was when my tour of duty was over," said Bray.

The damaged yacht returned to the marina, the woman onboard told police she was not hurt, the yacht's owner was arrested for eluding police and for outstanding felony warrants, and Bray's family could hardly believe his story of a sudden adventure on the high seas.

"They didn't even bring me back an ice cream," said Bray. "That was the frustrating part."

Cox Media Group