CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Burglars are sneaking onto boats in Cape Coral to steal expensive equipment.
“Honestly, it’s probably better that I didn’t catch them because I wouldn’t have hesitated. They wouldn’t have walked off this property the same way they came on it,” Robert Blanton said.
Someone reportedly trespassed his property, climbed into his boat, and stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
“All in total, the estimation is $60-50 in loss,” said Blanton.
According to the police report, a sonar system, two propellers, and two engine control modules (ECM) were stolen. Someone at Mercury Marine told Blanton that criminals have found a way to hack the EMCs and make them untraceable.
“Other owners are buying these stolen modules, and they are able to take a 300 or 350 horsepower motor and pump it up to 485 horsepower,” said Blanton. “Then, if the motor blows up, the owner switches the ECMs back into the engine and takes it in for service work under warranty.”
Just a few miles from Blanton’s home, police responded to another burglary on the same day. On Embers Parkway, someone stole $38,000 worth of equipment, including 3 ECMs.
“I would gather that when the snowbirds return, we’re probably going to have more engines found without their ECMs,” said Blanton.
Still, Blanton is confident Cape Coral Police will catch these burglars. They are watching over security footage and DNA testing items the suspects left behind.
“You can steal for a while, but you can’t steal forever. It catches up. Technology today is incredible,” said Blanton.
If you know anything about either crime, call Cape Coral Police at 239-574-3223.
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