KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office says a stolen boat has been recovered, but they’re still looking for the alleged thief.

According to the KCSO, a 1999 Sports Craft fishing boat was reported stolen on Saturday, May 27, in Chelyan. Deputies said surveillance footage showed a light-colored pickup truck pulling the 20-foot blue boat and it’s trailer away around 1:30 a.m. They say the estimated value of the boat is approximately $20,000.

Deputies say after making a public post about the stolen fishing boat, they received a tip within hours that a citizen had seen a boat that fit the description in a yard on Scenic River Road in the Procious area of Clay County. The KCSO says they alerted the West Virginia State Police Clay County detachment about the tip, and troopers went to the home to investigate.

The KCSO says troopers recovered the stolen boat and learned it had been brought to the Procious area by relatives of the victim. Deputies say the relatives told troopers they allegedly found the stolen boat abandoned in the Clendenin Park and Ride and that a blue vinyl wrap portraying a fish scene had been stripped from it.

According to KCSO, the relatives said they had trouble trying to get in touch with the victim and brought it to the home in Procious until they could get in contact with the owner.

Deputies say they are still investigating and looking for the individual or individuals who stole the boat. Anyone with any information on the theft is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 304-357-0169 or submit a tip to the sheriff’s office website.