Friday Story Update: NBC 10 received a call from David Waters who says police just called and said they have found his stolen Sea-Doo abandoned in the woods.
David Waters loves fishing.
"I was fishing off piers, but I wanted to get out there and found a different way. At the time, I didn't have the room or the money for a boat," he said.
So, he purchased a new $7,000 Sea-Doo.
"Mine's custom rigged with fishing rod holders and a fish finder and a bunch of other stuff so it's unique," Waters said.
Waters, who is in the Navy and is stationed in Groton, Conn., said he was coming home from showing off his new Sea-Doo at the New England Saltwater Fishing Expo on Sunday night when the left wheel of his trailer started thumping.
"The left tire was bearing," he said.
Waters pulled over and realized a cotter pin would fix the tire. He saw a nearby Walmart on Interstate 95 near Exit 7, unattached the hitch and left the Sea-Doo in the breakdown lane.
But when he came back, the trailer and the Sea-Doo were gone.
"I'd say no more than 40 minutes, maybe 45 minutes tops," he said. "I was shocked, almost felt like I was in the wrong spot but I knew I was in the right spot. It was shocking to see it gone that fast."
Waters said Sea-Doos have special programmable keys, so anybody who took the personal watercraft won't be able to start it without getting a new key.
"I feel like I was kicked while I was already down, you know? The trailer has issues so I'm not sure how somebody actually got that far with it," he said.
Waters is offering a $1,000 reward for the arrest of the person responsible for taking the Sea-Doo. Anyone with information is asked to call the Rhode Island State Police Hope Valley barracks at 401-539-2411.
The words "Sea Doo Dave" are printed on the side of the watercraft.
