Thieves Prowling Barrington River and Hundred Acre Cove

Boaters on the Barrington River and Hundred Acre Cove appear to be the target of thieves.

Three homeowners reported thefts to the Barrington police last week, bringing to four the number of larcenies of boats or boating equipment in the past two weeks. 

And the police want your help in quashing this crime spree.

“Watch other people’s docks,” said Barrington Police Chief John LaCross. “If anyone sees people or boats that shouldn’t be there, report them to the police. We’ll respond right away.” 

The most recent theft was reported last Tuesday evening, June 4, when a 9-foot dinghy with a Yamaha engine worth $2,700 was taken off the dock of a Massasoit Avenue home. It was reported to police at around 8:30 pm when the owners returned home after being away for a couple of days.

To steal the dinghy, said LaCross, the thief cut through an eyebolt to remove a cable used to hold the dinghy. Not an easy task, said the police chief.

Then last Thursday, June 6, police received a report around 9 pm from an Opechee Drive man that he found a fuel tank swiped from a 17-foot Sea Swirl boat. He found the hatch open, said LaCross, and the $35 tank gone.

A Henry Drive resident then reported to police on Saturday afternoon, June 8, that a pair of $50 binoculars was taken from a boat on his dock.

Those three thefts follow the theft of a kayak from a home on Hundred Acre Cove the previous week, said LaCross.

Police have received a report of a white male in his 20s in a "low, wooden skiiff, the type used by quahoggers," said LaCross, spotted near a dock on Hundred Acre Cove.