Boat Dock Turns Up Missing

Sat., July 15, 1995

Ward Sanderson Staff Writer

Everyone loses something now and then. A sock, a button, a key, a boat dock.

A boat dock? Apparently so. That’s what happened to Bob Cooley, anyway. The South Side resident owns property at Liberty Lake. He said in the spring, his dock just vanished.

He doesn’t know what happened to it.

At first, he figured some hoodlums made off with it. But after rapping with some other folks at Liberty Lake, he thinks Mother Nature was responsible.

Cooley thinks maybe high water just caused the dock to float off.

“Apparently, a lot of them get away,” Cooley said. “It’s kind of a yearly ritual, I guess. Every year, people see others (in boats) pulling docks across the lake and putting them back where they belong.”

That’s right. It’s kind of an annual pilgrimage.

“Oh yeah, there’s nothing strange about it, especially when the wind acts up,” Liberty Lake resident Jerry Dean said. Dean has lived at his Sandy Beach home for five years, and while he personally hasn’t witnessed many runaway docks there, he said the problem isn’t new. In fact, he said it’s Valley-wide. Dean said he used to see derelict docks make a break for it routinely when his parents lived at Newman Lake.

Hopefully, all isn’t lost. Despite the lag time since the dock actually deserted, Cooley still hasn’t given up.

He said Liberty Lake neighbors are usually pretty honest. Cooley recently placed a classified ad announcing the escape, and said that method has worked in the past.

“You never know who got it,” Cooley said. “I had a water ski returned to me after about a month when someone spotted my ad.”

Seen a free-floating boat dock lately? Cooley wants to know. He really wants it back.

There’s a reward in it, too.

Anyone with information can call him at 747-5956.

, DataTimes

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.