The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recovered a sunken boat in the Hudson River near the Town of Catskill that has been missing since June.
Sometime in June, a man reportedly collided with a channel marker on the river near the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. After the accident, the boater allegedly beached the boat near the Catskill Creek. A friend then reportedly gave the boater a ride to a nearby hospital to be treated for minor injuries caused by the accident.
When the boater returned to retrieve his boat the next morning, it was reportedly gone. The Ulster County Sheriff’s Department used sonar equipment to try finding the boat, but they were unable to locate it.
In early July, New York State Environmental Conservation Officer Palmateer received information that the boat struck a channel marker on the river. Palmateer and Lieutenant Glorioso launched their police boat and began inspecting nearby channel markers for damage. They eventually located a green channel marker with white paint streaks and a missing light. There was also a navigation light from the bow of a boat sitting on the marker. This indicated to them that some sort of collision occurred.
Over the next few weeks, Environmental Conservation police continued investigating and discovered the person responsible for the accident. The man admitted to the collision.
On August 13, a kayaker located the boat on the Hudson River just north of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. The owner was able to retrieve it.
Palmateer issued the boater a ticket for failing to report a boating accident. The U.S. Coast Guard is in the process of repairing the channel marker.
