Abandoned boat believed used for smuggling immigrants found on Aliso Beach

An abandoned capsized boat found on Aliso Beach is believed to have carried at least a dozen illegal immigrants who made their way to shore and to a waiting van, Laguna Beach police said.

The 18-foot skiff was discovered by a resident at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. He said he saw the boat wash ashore and that several people ran out of it, some of them wearing life jackets, said Lt. Jason Kravetz.

Kravetz said that when officers arrived, they found numerous life jackets and gasoline canisters, some with some gas still inside, sprinkled along the shoreline. A waterlogged GPS unit was also found on the beach.

“There were markings on some of the evidence that it came from Mexico, but no evidence that’s where the people came from,” Kravetz said. “[They were] very sophisticated as far as using GPS.”

Officers followed a trail of wet footprints and sand into the Aliso Creek area, where more life jackets were  found.

Kravetz said the group from the boat apparently proceeded up a dirt path that leads from a parking lot to a residential area and made their way toward Monterey Street, where a vehicle picked them up. Footprints indicate they got into the vehicle on multiple sides, which led investigators to believe that it was a large van, he said.

"Someone could have met them at the beach and led them up,” Kravetz said. “They wouldn’t have known how to get there.”

Officers called the Sheriff's Department's Harbor Patrol to look for other vessels, but no others were found, he said. Authorities also contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which took custody of the boat. The boat sank and had to be pulled out of the water.

Kravetz said officials are on alert and that there could be more of these smuggling voyages. On Nov. 11, Laguna Beach police dealt with a similar incident, Kravetz said. A 28-foot empty skiff was found a mile away from where the Aliso Beach boat was found, he said. Life jackets and fuel containers were also found.

Authorities searched the area using a helicopter, Kravetz said, and Coast Guard officials were notified, but no one was found in the water.

The case has been turned over to ICE, he said.

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy

Comments

[DRE DAWG]

Kravetz, how can you so certainly say the people from the boat could not have known how to get to where that van was parked? Odds are, these people were smuggled in hoping to find a better life in the US. But they could be smuggled in for more evil reasons. Coyotes don't care what your reasons are for being smuggled into the US, they just want your money.

I hope this major breach of US security got secretly passed to some super secret branch of the CIA. But of course if that dumb couple can get into the White House state dinner with out invitations and dressed in a sari, then this is no surprise.

[Louweegie272]

I hope we start taking border security more seriously. Sure, most of the people sneaking into the country just want to work, but as we've seen lately there are many groups around the world that would like to destroy us.

[Irene]

Duh...of course this is not surprising...ive heard of people being deported back to el salvador or mexico and are able to come back w/in the next day or two. You swear the U.S. would be able to completely stop illegal smuggling of immigrants, its unrealistic.

[SEAn]

I just have one question What in the hell you were doing there so late at night?

[YVETTE]

i just dont understand why not just give them their residents so they can work. i mean thats what they are coming for. you want to make a big deal. when they have kids born here you give them money from welfare until they are 18,and they are working cash, so basically is the same!!let them pay taxes too!

[Del Webb]

Great Job Napolitano

[signedON]

This was a mix of human and systematic failure.

[Kimberly]

What excellent homeland security we have! We, American Citizens are not allowed to take a tube of toothpaste onto an airliner, but its perfectly ok for 20 illegals to run a boat onto our shore unnoticed. Are you KIDDING me???

I sure hope that these were just some Mexican illegal immigrants looking to mooch off of the American tax dollars and not some Al Qaeda intelligence agents.

Remind me again why we are paying such high income taxes to our incredibly incompetent government?

[Ted Smith III]

What a terrible job by law enforcement to do an investigation after the fact. For all they know, the "dozen" or so people that just got smuggled into the country are terrorist whom are going to kill innocent people!

[Herbert444]

Oh well sophisticated smugglers using gps and making midnight rendevous with double-sided vans are probably of no moment, after all, aren't all smugglers trustworthy?
So why isn't Homeland Defense running blood hounds to find the sophisticated smugglers who land by night in boats on the beaches? Sounds almost like it might be military--naah of course not. That's not why everyone is searched in airports is it?

[Thomga]

As citizens of the U.S., our best hope is that these fortunate individuals are just undocumented workers looking for a good job, a chance to avail themselves of our services and become Democratic lever pullers. The next worst case is that these are individuals working the drug trade and will bring violence to our shores. Of course, and worst of all, these could be individuals with radical jihadist ambitions. But Jihadist wouldn't take such chances when all they have to do is purchase a ticket with the confidence that our security at airports in no better than the security on our boarders and beaches. Come on in Ya'al. Make yourself ta home. Wake up, Citizens. Claim the power that is yours, and kick the deadheads out of Congress.

[Bobby]

I suggest we allow not only these people into the U.S but the whole world. Then the Democrats will be the "party of the world" and a new era of "enlightenment" will come about. Pesky Town Hall protestors(or Nazi's as Mrs. Nancy Pelosi called these Americans) will be a thing of the past.Everyone will be enlightened, but broke, poor as a church mouse and living in utter poverty on the Democrat Party animal farm. Yeah, bring it on--Ex El Presidente of the U.S. Jorge Bush.

[Efron Lopez]

The solution is to find these boats and sink them at sea before they can reach land.

[Jimi]

More proof that the double layer fence in San Diego is working very well. Now all they need to do is finish it. Run it all the way to Brownsville and this problem is over.
That's what Israel did. Have you heard of terrorist bombings there lately? We have more attacks here now!

As in all things political, there is neither the will nor desire to contol America's border security. If there were it would have been already done. Instead we got a dog and pony show with 300 miles of so called "vehicle barriors" anyone or anything can cross. They were intentionally designed to fail. That's why they are 8 feet across, that's so a couple of ramps can let the smuggling trucks over it.

We might as well put Rod Roddy down there to yell, "Come on Down"!

[rcon1]

20 more illegals probably with a couple hundred pounds of pot land at the beach in the middle of the night and scramble up to a pre positioned pick up spot without even the slightest bother from law enforcment. However if we try to cast a line fishing in the same spot our drivers and fishing license and equpitment is analised, scrutinized our records are checked, fish mesured, bags searched and detained for as long as they want. Whats wrong with this.

[Mr Salty]

One more black mark for the Coast Guard...........