Latest news with #JohnBudensiek
Metro
06-05-2025
- Metro
Deputies chase down and surround stolen luxury yacht and bust hijacker
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Sheriff's deputies embarked on boat chase in Florida and hunted down a stolen luxury yacht and busted the hijacker, who turned out to be Russian national. The 66-foot yacht was stolen from the Blowing Rocks Marina near Tequesta on Monday afternoon and driven along the Intercoastal Waterway in Hobe Sound, according to the Martin County Sheriff's Office. Video footage from the scene showed six armed deputies hopping onto a boat and speeding off in the body of water to pursue the hijacker. The suspect on the yacht was 'attempting to evade capture' as sheriff's marine and ground units, SWAT team members and detectives closed in and prepared to jump on board, stated the sheriff's office on Facebook. 'He was behind three levels of tinted windows that we could not see in and then our deputies were responding they had riffles, but they had no cover,' Sheriff John Budensiek told CBS12. The suspect maneuvered toward the Hobe Sound Bridge and officials let the yacht through to prevent damage to the land structure, but the chase didn't last too long afterward. Units quickly surrounded the yacht and forced it to come to a halt along a stretch of shrubbery. Some of the deputies pointed rifles at the luxury vessel as the suspect was apprehended. 'AND CAPTURED!' wrote the sheriff's office, along with the hashtag #WrongInlet. The suspect, wearing an orange lifejacket, was pictured sitting cross-legged at the front of the yacht as two deputies held him on each side. Other photos showed him appearing downcast as they escorted him onto a tender boat and onto a dock and back to land. He was identified as Nikolai Vilka and did not speak English, so the Department of Homeland Security brought a Russian interpreter to assist in the investigation. No further information was immediately released around Vilka. 'We're trying to figure out where he came from, what was he doing and what he was trying to do with the vessel,' said Budensiek. 'But there's a lot of questions we have.' More Trending The yacht was reported stolen by the dockmaster. 'Our guys were confident, our supervisors were confident that boat was not going to go very far without some real trouble from the Martin County Sheriff's Office,' said Budensiek. Tequesta is about 20 miles north of West Palm Beach. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Pastor mysteriously found dead in position resembling a crucifixion MORE: Elon Musk reveals terrifying reason Mars is 'life insurance for humanity' MORE: Mark Carney tells Trump 'Canada will never be for sale' in White House meeting
New York Times
14-04-2025
- New York Times
5 Migrants Assumed Dead After Boat Capsizes Off Florida Coast
Five migrants are feared dead after their boat capsized on the way to Florida from the Bahamas in 'a suspected failed smuggling venture,' officials said on Monday. The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday that it had suspended its search after covering 1,240 square miles over seven hours. Four people were rescued from a 25-foot vessel about 30 miles off Florida's Atlantic Coast, near St. Lucie, on Sunday morning, according to the Coast Guard. Martin County Fire Rescue said in a statement that four survivors and one deceased victim were pulled from the water just before 10 a.m. Sunday. One of the survivors was seriously injured and the others had injuries that were not life-threatening, the department said. The county's sheriff, John Budensiek, said at a news conference on Monday that the four people rescued were of Dominican and Haitian descent. According to interviews with survivors, the boat quickly capsized in the early hours of Friday when it left the island of Bimini with nine people onboard, Sheriff Budensiek said. The Coast Guard said the boat capsized early Saturday morning. Many of the migrants were initially able to cling onto the boat but 'lost their grip and one by one drifted out into the ocean,' he said. Only four were still alive — one woman and three men, including a 17-year-old — once the sheriff's office was called around 8 a.m. on Sunday to assist the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection with the rescue operation, Sheriff Budensiek said. A fisherman who was out with his family on Sunday spotted the flipped vessel and was able to get close enough to give the migrants water, food and life jackets, the sheriff said. Because of rough sea conditions, his team needed over an hour to reach the boat. All four people who survived were transported to a hospital, where they were treated for water exposure and 'serious sunburns,' Sheriff Budensiek said. The chance of recovering the remaining missing people 'is probably pretty dismal at this point,' he said. 'We believe they're in the Gulf Stream, so they're moving rapidly to the north.' 'The decision to suspend a search is always difficult and never taken lightly,' Chief Warrant Officer Edgardo Insignares said in a Coast Guard statement. Smugglers 'routinely exploit' vulnerable migrants for profit, he said, 'while putting their lives at risk aboard overloaded and unseaworthy vessels.'
