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Last Updated:
Sunday, November 20, 2005 10:39 AM
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News Release
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The Eyes and the Ears of the Coast Guard: the Coast Guard Auxiliary |
Date:
Contact: Aux. Wayne Spivak |
Auxiliary Safety Patrol helps nab illegal migrants
Boynton Beach, FL: A safety patrol during “Mini-Season” for the Atlantic Spiny Lobster in the offshore waters surrounding Boynton Beach turned into something out of the routine for members of Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 54 last week.
The July 28 patrol included observing and monitoring the safety measures being maintained by lobster divers and the dive boats. During the patrol Auxiliary Coxswain Otto Spiebichler received a VHF radio call from Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet advising them of a reported 23-foot powerless cabin boat that had allegedly been adrift for about three days.
The report went on to state that the occupants were two men of unknown nationality. This turned the Safety Patrol into a Search and Rescue (SAR) with potential migrant interdiction. Due to the potential criminal aspect of this SAR case, the Auxiliarists were instructed to search the area and transmit the exact location of the vessel.
Auxiliarists are prohibited from being involved in direct law enforcement missions, thus the Coast Guard requested them to maintain visual contact.
Station Lake Worth Inlet had already dispatched a Coast Guard patrol vessel for the mission. The crew of the Auxiliary vessel, Ron Cuneo and Bruce Parmett, immediately began the appropriate search patterns and visual scanning methods taught to all Coast Guard forces.
Approximately 25 minutes after the search began the target vessel was sighted a few miles from shore with both men asleep on deck.
Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet, as well as the Coast Guard patrol vessel, were given the exact GPS coordinates and water depth. Shortly thereafter, the Coast Guard patrol vessel arrived, secured and boarded the drifting vessel.
The Coast Guard towed the 23-foot boat to Station Lake Worth Inlet and impounded the vessel as evidence.
The two men on board the drifting vessel were migrants believed to be of Bahamian origin. They were held in custody due to outstanding US warrants on one of the individuals.
The Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary request all persons who live, work or play in or around maritime areas to keep a vigilant lookout for suspicious activity. When something doesn’t look just right, they are requested to contact the Coast Guard or local law enforcement.
Call the National Response Center at 800-424-8802 or 877-24WATCH. If There Is Immediate Danger to Life or Property, Call 9-1-1 or Call the Coast Guard on Marine Channel 16.
If you want to of additional assistance, why not become a participant of America’s Waterway Watch program (http://www.americaswaterwaywatch.org). For those with a more hands-on interest in helping the Coast Guard, consider volunteering as a Coast Guard Auxiliarist (http://www.cgaux.org)
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer's who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education. The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 30,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions. For more information on the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, visit us at www.cgaux.org. ### |
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