Yacht stolen from Mexico washes up on Fla. coast

[August 27, 2010]  PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities are investigating who stole a 48-foot luxury yacht from a marina in Mexico and how it ended up on a Florida beach almost 500 miles away.

The yacht called "Makin' Waves" was found beached with its engines running on Wednesday near St. Petersburg.

Yacht owner Arturo Millet Reyes says he reported it stolen days earlier from a marina in Cancun.

A resident of the Florida beach says he saw the boat motoring toward the beach and got ready to swim out in case the driver was having a medical emergency.

Gene Borg says there was no one on board. There were no signs of a struggle, though the TVs were gone.

The U.S. Coast Guard searched by air and sea Wednesday for anyone who may have been on the abandoned yacht, but suspended the search Thursday.

[Associated Press; By MELISSA NELSON]

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