Is there a way to check if a boat is stolen?

• About four weeks ago around 3am my neighbor across the street was making a lot of noise in his garage so I looked to see what was going on. When I looked out my window he along with three other men were forcing a boat into the garage... I say "forcing" because they were hitting things and then banging the garage door shut because the boat was sticking out just a little. About a week or so my son was telling me that the boy across the street had told him that his dad and grandpa had "jacked" the boat. One day while washing my car, they had the garage door open and a police car had just turned the corner coming in our direction and the guy screamed at his sons to shut the garage "now". Yesterday he came up to me and asked if I wanted to buy his boat for 2 grand.... That type of boat is worth way more than that.... This guy is known for stealing things around the neighborhood and has even broken into foreclosed homes in the area to steal things like light fixtures and old faucets.... Is there a way I can check if the boat is stolen using the numbers on the side of the boat?

• Answer:

  Report this incident to your local police immediately. You can remain completely anonymous. It's important to act FAST before the boat is stripped down, repainted and transported somewhere else for sale. Boats in most states are required to have 8-12 digit numbers and letter decals on the front of the boat. It's a form of license plate that tell the DMV the same information that the license plates on your car do. Try to get the numbers off of the side of the boat if you can. A computer check will tell the police the serial number of the boat which is usually stamped on the inside of the boat. If the original owner of the boat has reported it stolen it will come up on the police computers as stolen. Boats are usually easy to find after they are stolen because they are usually difficult to hide and seldom stolen.