Most people have probably imagined sailing off toward a new harbor or chasing a sunset at least once. There is one fairly important prerequisite: the boat should be yours.
A man sleeping aboard his vessel in California’s Crescent City Harbor learned why shortly after midnight, when he woke to find the boat already moving toward the open ocean with a woman he did not know at the controls.
Before he could get it back to the dock, the vessel had struck part of the harbor and come close to rocks, according to the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office.
What might sound like a badly improvised attempt at piracy ended with 44-year-old Stacey Erin Nelson under arrest on grand theft, kidnapping, and unauthorized-vessel charges.
Ships That Pass in the Night
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The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to Crescent City Harbor at approximately 12:38 a.m. on Sept. 25 for a report of a stolen vessel.
Its owner, Jason A. Fain, had been asleep aboard when he woke and realized the boat was moving toward the open ocean. When he went to investigate, he found Nelson operating it without his permission.
The sheriff’s office specifically said Fain did not know her.
Whatever had happened before he woke, the unauthorized trip was not proceeding smoothly. The vessel collided with the dock and came close to rocks before Fain managed to regain control, turn it back toward the harbor and return to Dock C.
Deputies contacted Nelson after the boat was back at the dock and detained her while they investigated.
Kidnapping
Nelson was arrested at approximately 12:50 a.m., about 12 minutes after deputies were initially called.
Del Norte County jail records list her on felony charges of kidnapping and grand theft, along with a misdemeanor charge of taking a vessel without the owner’s permission.
The booking record lists the arrest location as Citizens Dock Road and shows Nelson remained in custody with no bail amount listed.
There is one wrinkle in the public records. The sheriff’s Facebook post cited Penal Code § 497 for grand theft, while the jail booking record lists the grand-theft charge under Penal Code § 487(a).
The sheriff’s public account also does not explain what additional facts led deputies to book Nelson on the kidnapping charge. It establishes that Fain was aboard while the vessel was being operated without his permission, but does not provide a fuller probable-cause narrative for that count.
Six Days Earlier
The Sept. 25 booking was not Nelson’s first local arrest that week.
Del Norte County jail records show Crescent City Police had arrested her Sept. 19, six days before the harbor incident, on misdemeanor charges of shoplifting and refusing to leave property.
She was released following that arrest.
The available records do not establish any connection between the Sept. 19 case and the later incident at Crescent City Harbor.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.