CdA boat theft suspects arrested

Two suspected thieves are in custody after authorities recovered a stolen boat Sunday morning on Lake Coeur d’Alene. According to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department, 20-year-old Anthony T. Brunet, of Post Falls, and 19-year-old Aaron J. Craft, of Spokane, were in a stolen 19-foot fishing boat that lost power about 1,000 yards south of Silver Beach Marina. Both were booked into Kootenai County Jail on theft charges after marine deputies boarded the boat and towed it to shore. Authorities were alerted to the theft about 7:10 a.m. by the boat’s owner, who spotted two men easing the craft out of its slip west of Higgins Point. The owner told deputies he hadn’t put any fuel in the boat yet this season, so authorities suspect it ran out of gas. Inside the boat, deputies found several items that didn’t belong to the boat’s owner, and the Sheriff’s Department suspects they may have been stolen from others in the area. The department is urging others with boats moored along Coeur d’Alene Drive to contact the department at (208) 446-1300 if they’re missing items.