Detectives close investigation on 'Ghost Yacht'

PINELLAS CO. Fla. - REDINGTON BEACH, Fla - Detectives haven’t found any evidence that a yacht that washed ashore at Redington Beach last week was used in any criminal activity, a spokesperson for the Pinellas Sheriff’s Office said.

Authorities in Cancun, Mexico, where the 43-foot boat was reported stolen, are continuing to investigate its theft; however Pinellas investigators have closed their investigation.

Detectives, along with a Sheriff’s K-9, searched the vessel but found no signs the boat had been used for anything illegal.

The yacht, named “Makin Waves”, was found beached with the engine still running, and no one on board last Wednesday.

The ship’s owner, Arturo Reyes, said the yacht was taken from a private marina in Cancun on August 21st and that he reported the theft to local police. Millet, 43, who owns a professional soccer team in the Mexican state of Yucatan, said the Mexican Coast Guard had been on the lookout for the yacht.

Millet said officials told him that the plasma TVs had been removed from the boat. He did not know what other damage may have been done to the yacht, which sells for about $1 million new. Millet said he has stored the yacht at the Cancun marina since he bought it in 2008.