North Fort Myers residents concerned over abandoned boat

A day out in the water turned into an alarming discovery for one North Fort Myers family.

“We came out one day, this boat was here, there was someone living on it,” said Joanne Kreise. “For a short period of time, he had the boat tied up to the channel marker and an anchor. He left the boat there. And it’s now, as you can see, sinking.”

Damaged and stuck, sitting on the rocks. While the trash onboard and gasoline pollutes the waters of the Caloosahatchee River.

“It’s so frustrating,” Kreise said. “We have these boats, these derelict boats, people are just letting go. What’s in these boats is further contaminating our waters. Yet no one seems to want to know anything about it.”

But the question residents have is how much longer will this boat sit here?

It’s been over 2 months already, and they’re worried the longer it takes, the more damage might be done.

“At some point you break loose, and it’ll come crashing into the seawall and you know, a huge damage to the seawall sending great shakes to begin with,” said North Fort Myers resident David Cook.

“We can’t use our boat because our prop is bent because of hitting something that was left underwater that nobody seems to want to take accountability for,” Kreise said.

But with no owner to claim it, it could sit there for much longer.

“Apparently it takes a very long process,” said Kreise. “We’re told you have to find the owner of the boat. Give them the opportunity. But they don’t. They just won’t wait. They don’t want any responsibility to it. So, it’ll sit there for months and months and months.”

According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, “intentionally dumping your vessel on the waters of Florida is a 3rd-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/ or a $5,000 fine.”

But all that residents like Joanne want are answers.

And not just for this boat, but the countless others still stuck and abandoned nearly 19 months after Hurricane Ian.

“Whose responsibility is when our boat gets damaged because of something that’s under the water from this, or other things that haven’t been removed,” asked Kreise “We all have to absorb that cost. Yet no one wants to do anything.”

Kreise said the damage to their boat right now will come out to at least $800 worth of repairs that she’ll have to figure out.

The FWC said they are aware of this boat, and it is under investigation.

Once completed it is up to the owner to remove it. If that doesn’t happen FWC will work with Lee County to get it out of the water.