Florida beach-goers received an unlikely visitor after an unmanned vessel washed ashore last weekend.
A 50-foot shrimp boat named “Miss Montie” ran aground on Beverly Beach, located approximately three miles north of Flagler Beach on Florida’s east coast, on Sunday evening, according to the Flagler Beach Fire Department.
Authorities responding to the scene of the beached vessel were initially unable to make contact with the crew, the department said in a social media post.
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The Flagler Beach Fire Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Upon contacting the U.S. Coast Guard, officials learned the crew was, in fact, accounted for and had been removed from the boat prior to Sunday, Coast Guard Marine Science Technician Brandan Blackwell, who responded to the scene, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
“We are just making sure that everything looks like it’s buttoned up, the vessel is still upright, it’s not capsizing or anything,” Blackwell said. “It’s a steel hull, so it shouldn’t fall apart overnight or anything crazy like that.”
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The ship lost power on Friday night, Corey Thomas, the captain of Miss Montie, told the News-Journal. Thomas reportedly called the Coast Guard after realizing his spare anchor would not hold the ship’s weight.
“I didn’t want to leave the boat drifting,” Thomas said. “The [Coast Guard] told me they couldn’t tow me. And I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t tow me. They told me it was too dangerous.”
Thomas was not immediately available for Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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The Coast Guard reportedly took Thomas and his crew to shore, where Thomas found a boat owner willing to tow his shrimp boat. However, Miss Montie had drifted eight miles in three hours, and the waves were too rough for the ship to be towed, the News-Journal reported.
Thomas attempted to use a second anchor to hold the boat, but the line broke. The next day, Miss Montie arrived on the shores of Beverly Beach.
“And here she sits,” Thomas said.
The boat was searched and subsequently handed over to local law enforcement. Thomas reportedly hired a larger shrimp boat to haul it off the beach, telling Fox News Digital he was being towed to St. Augustine.
The Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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