[soliloquy id="9672"]
REHOBOTH BEACH, DELAWARE (7/14/2015) The Coast Guard has helped to recover lifeguard stands reported stolen from Rehoboth Beach.
Seven stands went missing Thursday, forcing the Rehoboth Beach Patrol to use backup chairs.
One missing chair washed up on the beach north of Bethany, another was found by a fisherman and towed to West Ocean City, another was recovered by Coast Guard Station Ocean City and the fourth by a Coast Guard crew from Indiana River Inlet.
The 500-pound stands cost hundreds of dollars each and presented a hazard to navigation, the Coast Guard said.
“It’s not something we see every day,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Collin Snovell, a boatswain’s mate at Indian River Inlet. “It was a challenge once we got alongside the chair and realized how big it actually was.” The chair was lifted onto a 24-foot boat.
“Something that big and that heavy, if you hit that in a fiberglass boat, it could really mess your day up,” said Snovell.
Any boaters spotting the chairs or anything suspicious in the water are asked to contact the Coast Guard via VHF Channel 16.