Rash of boat break-ins at marinas; suspects likely getting access via water

SEATTLE — Seattle is seeing another rash of burglaries - this time, on boats at Lake Union marinas.

The marinas say suspects are accessing the boats from the water side.

“It’s a trend, it happened a little bit last year, it’s ramping up a little bit more. it is concerning,” Trevor Billingsley, the property manager of Boatworld Marinas.

Billingsley said four boats were broken into at their Diamond Marina on Westlake Ave, and now marinas in the area are warning their tenants.

“We had a definite false sense of security,” said Ryan Van Dam, one of the victims.

“It’s a shame that it's happening,” said Brett Selk, a boat captain who is frequently at Diamond Marina.

Billingsley said the crimes almost always happen at night. Because access to the marina is gated and locked, he believes the suspects are coming in via water.

Access to the marina is all gated and locked.

He also said he’s seen people in a dinghy appearing to case the area.

“You see a boat that’s not one of our tenants, they’re going very slowly, looking for anything unsecured,”  Billingsley said. “They look like transients,” he said.

He said in total, the suspects stole a few thousand dollars’ worth of stuff.

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“Kayaks, bikes, these guys are pretty brazen, they actually went on boats. Stole computers, tablets, phones,” Billingsley said.

One of the victims – Van Dam – said someone stole a bike of the boat where he and his wife live.

“There’s no way to block people coming up by boat,” he said. “Even just being home alone, the fact that there were people on the boat taking things and breaking into boats around here is just - it's a little bit freaky,” Van Dam said.

Another victim KIRO 7 photos of the break in on his boat of open doors and drawers, and stuff in disarray. He said the suspects only ended up stealing some tools from his boat.

And Diamond Marina said it’s not alone.

“I also heard from other marina managers on Eastlake that they were hit pretty hard, maybe 15 boats,” Billingsley said.

Harbor Police confirmed there was another marina break in, but did not say which marina.

Selk, the boat captain, said especially as boating season ends and vessels sit idle   people need to use these break-ins as a reminder.

“People just get comfortable and complacent and don't think to lock up everything because it's not something that happens frequently,” Selk said.

Harbor police said they have stepped up patrols in the area - something tenants say they have noticed.

If you have information on the crimes you're asked to call police.

Cox Media Group