From Alberta to the Atlantic - A Strange Stolen Boat Saga Ends Off Sable Island

A bizarre boating saga across Canada has authorities trying to make sense of one man's journey.

On September 30th, a man was arrested while aboard a stolen cabin cruiser near Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia. In the days after his arrest, authorities determined he spent three months travelling by truck and boat from Alberta, to Ontario, to Cape Breton, and into the frigid waters of the Atlantic. The arrest capped off a weeks-long, multi-agency effort involving the RCMP, the Canadian Coast Guard, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

According to CBC, Mohammad Saleh, 31, of Toronto, is charged with theft and possession of property obtained by crime, related to both a stolen truck and a stolen boat.

For Canadian boaters up on their maritime history, Sable Island is the cursed "graveyard of the Atlantic" where some 350 shipwrecks linger. The strange sandbar peaks above the Atlantic in a crescent shape roughly 290 kilometres (180 miles) east of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is rugged, isolated, and nearly imperceptible within the rolling waves. It is a geological marvel atop the continental shelf -- barely 1.3 kilometers at its widest point and just 30 metres high depending on the waves. Thousands of sailors have marooned there, some for days, some for much longer. Several lost their lives. Jagged, rusting wreckage dots the landscape as the island seemingly rose up from the depths and perched them just high enough to never leave.

The Coast Guard vessel Sir William Alexander was used in the investigation of Mohammad Saleh / Photo - RCMP Nova Scotia Facebook Page

Strangely, although perhaps unknown to Saleh, there are permanent buildings on Sable Island. Even with its dark reputation as an unplanned holdover for sailors and pirates, and more recently for lighthouse keepers and scientific personnel, the island's first recorded shipwreck dates back to 1583. With four centuries of shaken sailors and the ominous stories they told upon their return, various groups have constructed outbuildings, including a permanent weather station with accommodations for long term guests.

In other words, Sable Island is a desolate place to hide from the law, but not an impossible one. Even with its mystique, it is somehow home to a herd of wild horses.

According to the RCMP, the investigation began on September 23rd, when Richmond County District RCMP responded to a call from the Lennox Passage Yacht Club in D’Escousse, a small coastal community on Cape Breton Island -- some 260 kilometres north of Sable Island. A white cabin cruiser had vanished from a berth in the marina sometime around midday.

“Surveillance video showed a man boarding the white cabin cruiser and departing from the marina that day at approximately noon,” said the RCMP in a statement. Officers soon located a grey Ford F-150 in the parking lot. It had Ontario license plates.

Photo- Lennox Passage Yacht Club Facebook

As investigators began searching backwards in time, and from east to west across the country, the details of the pick-up truck only deepened the mystery. Investigators were thrown off by the vehicle's license plates -- from Ontario -- only to run the VIN and discover it had been registered in Alberta and reported stolen in July -- three months earlier. As details emerged, investigators came to believe a single suspect had driven the stolen truck from Alberta to Ontario, spent an unknown amount of time in the province, switched the license plates, then drove to the East Coast, only to steal a boat and head out to sea.

The only other logical route from Ontario to Cape Breton requires a detour through the United States, entering via New York, Vermont, or even Maine — all unlikely choices if traveling in a stolen truck. Given Saleh's supposed connection to Toronto, it seems likely he travelled northeast through Quebec, into New Brunswick, then Nova Scotia, and finally out to Cape Breton Island.

Five days after the truck's discovery, on September 28th, officers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) were conducting an aerial surveillance patrol near St. Pierre and Miquelon -- a set of French islands south of Newfoundland and east of Cape Breton -- when they spotted the missing vessel reported stolen from D’Escousse. The small French island chain is roughly 350 kilometres east of the Cape Breton coast, and 425 kilometres northeast of Sable Island.

It “appeared to be adrift and unoccupied,” the RCMP said. “DFO fishery officers were unable to make contact with anyone on the boat.”

Not knowing who was at the helm, and with concerns about the condition and capability of the boat's captain, a response was launched involving DFO, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), and the RCMP’s Marine Security Enforcement Teams (MSET) — a specialized marine policing unit that patrols Atlantic waters.

Two days later, on September 30th, a Coast Guard vessel carrying the MSET officers located the drifting vessel near Sable Island, roughly 400 kilometres southwest from its last sighting.

“When officers boarded, they found and arrested the man on board, who was observed to be the same man from marina surveillance video,” the RCMP said. "The suspect was given a medical assessment and transported to shore by the Coast Guard and RCMP."

The man was identified as Mohammad Saleh, 31, of Toronto. He is charged with theft and possession of property obtained by crime.

Saleh made his first court appearance at Wagmatcook Provincial Court on October 1st.

In a statement, Sgt. Brad Kelly, district commander for Richmond County RCMP, praised the collaborative efforts of law enforcement.

“The collaboration from partner agencies was an important part of locating and recovering this vessel,” Kelly said. “The skills and tools that officers at DFO, the Coast Guard, JRCC, and MSET brought to the investigation resulted in a safe outcome for everyone involved.”

The boat and truck have both been seized. Forensic analysis is underway. Police from Nova Scotia, Alberta, and even British Columbia are involved.

“The boat and the truck were both seized and further investigation is ongoing with support from Nova Scotia RCMP Forensic Identification Services, and police in Alberta and British Columbia,” the press release said.

So, why did Saleh travel that far only to end up adrift off Sable Island? Why did he travel from Alberta, to Ontario, to the East Coast, and then steal a boat? Where was he headed? Investigators won’t say.

The question also remains how a person with potentially little or no boating experience could not only commandeer a large vessel, but navigate for days on end through the rugged waters of the North Atlantic. The region is home to significant commercial ship traffic -- everything from fishing trawlers to container ships -- and is considered some of the roughest and most unpredictable water in the world. The Titanic sank 800 kilometres due east of Sable Island, it should be noted. Saleh had travelled over 400 km in two days. By all accounts, he was under power for a significant part of his journey. It's plausible he was found adrift only because the boat had finally run out of fuel.

According to the RCMP, the case remains active and they are continuing to trace Saleh's movements from Nova Scotia to Alberta.

Anyone with information about the thefts or the suspect’s travels is asked to contact Richmond County District RCMP at 902-535-2002 or submit an anonymous tip to Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers. #news #culture