Martin County Sheriff's Office says squatters taking over derelict boats is a 'new phenomenon' that surfaced last year
Vagrants in South Florida this winter are increasingly moving aboard derelict boats sitting along the coast, in a new squatter "phenomenon" that only surfaced for the local sheriff’s office in the last year, Fox News Digital has learned.
"This is a 2023 epiphany. We have had homeless, vagrant population here in Martin County for quite some time. Not a large one, but we have had people that are transient moving through. And we've had the derelict vessel issue. These were two separate problems," Chief Deputy John Budensiek told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview this week.
"But as our marine deputy started citing, tagging and removing these vessels, they learned last year that a lot of these vessels were inhabited by vagrants," he continued.
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Vagrants in South Florida this winter are increasingly moving aboard derelict boats sitting along the coast, in a new squatter "phenomenon" that only surfaced for the local sheriff’s office in the last year, Fox News Digital has learned.
"This is a 2023 epiphany. We have had homeless, vagrant population here in Martin County for quite some time. Not a large one, but we have had people that are transient moving through. And we've had the derelict vessel issue. These were two separate problems," Chief Deputy John Budensiek told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview this week.
"But as our marine deputy started citing, tagging and removing these vessels, they learned last year that a lot of these vessels were inhabited by vagrants," he continued.
Squatter pirates flushed from vacation spot as authorities crack down on ‘disgusting’ water pollution
The Martin County Sheriff's Office in South Florida is dealing with "new phenomenon" where vagrants squat in derelict boats abandoned off the coast.
