USCG claws back rescue costs

[brownoarsman]

Interesting case where the federal government successfully demanded restitution for Search and Rescue efforts due to the fraudulent nature of the distress.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.9ffaf7c4e975

For those that can't read the article, a man rented a boat, scattered his blood about, then left it adrift while he took his inflatable to shore and stayed in an apartment he had rented under a relative's name. When the boat was spotted adrift, USCG launched a multi-day search and rescue effort. When the man was found and admitted to the fraud, the court decided that the federal government was owed restitution.

I know the subject of having USCG charge for rescues that are deemed ridiculous (man trying to run to the bahamas in a blow up hamster wheel, for instance); but it looks like faking your death might be where the line is drawn.

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[DeepFrz]

Good.

[newhaul]

I for one feel that he should spend many years in jail for this type of activity. Putting us in harms way for his personal enjoyment. ( wife is retired rescue swimmer)
I worked alpine rescue).

[valhalla360]

Good, it's a huge difference between training exercises when you can call it off if the conditions get out of hand and a real rescue mission where the crews will stay out trying to save someone.

[bletso]

Originally Posted by newhaul

I for one feel that he should spend many years in jail for this type of activity. Putting us in harms way for his personal enjoyment. ( wife is retired rescue swimmer)
I worked alpine rescue).

Perhaps but consider while in jail, no restitution can be made and the cost of incarceration is very high. Just have them make restitution with interest. Even then he may never get it all paid back. To maintain control how about a GPS tracker and parole type check-ins.

[Island Time O25]

Did he make an affirmative SOS call to attract the attention to his being "missing at sea"? If not this may be a slippery slope where GC will eventually end up actively going after every situation it suspects as not kosher. A not too remote probability during our cost/budget cutting times.

Personally I'd rather see that GC put him back in that boat, tow to the place she was found and set him adrift with no further rescue attempts. A powerful educational moment so to speak. And an example of consequences to all other potential pranksters. As well as significant savings for the court/penitentiary system.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by bletso

Perhaps but consider while in jail, no restitution can be made and the cost of incarceration is very high. Just have them make restitution with interest. Even then he may never get it all paid back. To maintain control how about a GPS tracker and parole type check-ins.

True house arrest does make more sense . It just always really makes me mad when people do that kind of stupid stuff putting brave men and women unnecessarily in harms way.

[George DuBose]

From my understanding, the French will save a boat for free, but any passengers have to pay €750 per hour to be rescued.

False alarms should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

When Skylark was leaving North America for The Netherlands, one of my crew pushed button #2 on a SPOT device, thinking it meant that the recipients of the emails sent by the SPOT wouldn't be getting the daily email due to cloud cover south of Newfoundland.

The twin of the errant crewman called the Canadian Coast Guard and instigated a search. By 1600, we were found happily sailing off into the Atlantic. Since the SPOT device was new to the market and the alarm wasn't really "false", just due to misinterpretation by the idiot's twin brother in Ohio, we weren't subject to any fines or penalties.

We had an EPIRB on board and it was my fault as the captain for not knowing what this idiot was up to.

Forewarned...

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by George DuBose

From my understanding, the French will save a boat for free, but any passengers have to pay €750 per hour to be rescued.

False alarms should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

When Skylark was leaving North America for The Netherlands, one of my crew pushed button #2 on a SPOT device, thinking it meant that the recipients of the emails sent by the SPOT wouldn't be getting the daily email due to cloud cover south of Newfoundland.

The twin of the errant crewman called the Canadian Coast Guard and instigated a search. By 1600, we were found happily sailing off into the Atlantic. Since the SPOT device was new to the market and the alarm wasn't really "false", just due to misinterpretation by the idiot's twin brother in Ohio, we weren't subject to any fines or penalties.

We had an EPIRB on board and it was my fault as the captain for not knowing what this idiot was up to.

Forewarned...

Correction, The French SNSM will save LIVES Free, but charge for saving property ( like providing tow jobs) when they consider lives are not endangered.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Robin3

Correction, The French SNSM will save LIVES Free, but charge for saving property ( like providing tow jobs) when they consider lives are not endangered.

And that's when the crew sits on deck rolling pretend joints.. then your towed for free so they can search for drugs..

[crabcake]

Originally Posted by newhaul

I for one feel that he should spend many years in jail for this type of activity. Putting us in harms way for his personal enjoyment. ( wife is retired rescue swimmer)
I worked alpine rescue).

Shame they have done away with the rock pile and hard labor!

[Smokeys Kitchen]

The CG can't tow him back out there; he rented the boat. Maybe it is just a civil penalty, house lean, bank lean, whatever the CG and the Feds can get their hands on. But this particular case reeks of attempted fraud, so there is a criminal investigation that should be ongoing as well. Whether or not that produces charges is up to the investigating body; but a civil case should be easier to prove.

Spent 15 years working on a ski patrol [professional]. We'd get about 4 or 5 cases a season of missing persons where we had to go out in the dark with headlamps; frequently in storms. Almost always the person was in the bar or back at the lodge while we were cold and crossing slide paths at night. I really don't believe you should put rescuers in danger for no reason (or selfish reasons), but if called out - going out was part of the job.

[Celestialsailor]

From the article: “So many of us face personal tragedies [that] we don’t feel capable of handling. Mr. Ohrn was faced with several of those crises at once".
Oh ya?...like what. No mention of family or anything like that. He should put on his big boy pants and do some time. I doubt he will pay 1/10th that amount.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by bletso

.................and the cost of incarceration is very high. Just have them make restitution with interest. Even then he may never get it all paid back. .....

So how is this an "improvement" over jail time? Help me understand your logic.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Island Time O25

Personally I'd rather see that GC put him back in that boat, tow to the place she was found and set him adrift with no further rescue attempts. A powerful educational moment so to speak. And an example of consequences to all other potential pranksters. As well as significant savings for the court/penitentiary system.

Now there's a solution looking for a large group of folks who will yell abuse.

Folks, without getting into inhumane repercussions, can you please endeavor to actually come up with a punishment that would fit the crime? Seriously.