Half-Sunken Mystery Boat Creates Anclote River Concerns

HOLIDAY, FL — As Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies work to unravel the mystery behind a half-sunken boat discovered near the Anclote River Park boat ramp on Tuesday night, they’re turning to the public for help in identifying its owner.

According to the sheriff’s office, the boat named “Bootlegger” was found around 5:30 p.m. March 7 by marine unit deputies who were patrolling in the area of the 1119 Baillies Bluff Road park. The boat was located in a half-sunken position directly west of the park’s boat ramp. It’s described as being a 1965, 39-foot wooden cabin cruiser.

The boat, the sheriff’s office wrote in a Wednesday email to media, is “derelict and creating a serious hazard” for safe vessel navigation. Thanks to a fairly full tank of diesel, it’s also creating a “moderate environmental risk.”

To help protect the river, the sheriff’s office put an oil absorbent boom around the vessel’s perimeter to temporarily contain the fuel spill that erupted after the boat sank. The National Response Center and U.S. Coast Guard have both been notified.

In the meantime, the sheriff’s office would very much like to identify the owner of the Bootlegger. It seems the boat’s documentation expired all the way back in 2004. Anyone who might know the owner is asked to call the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office at 1-800-706-2488. Callers can remain anonymous.

Further information about the case isn't available until deputies catch up with its owner to determine just how the boat sank near the park's ramp.

Photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office