Texas Woman Accused Of Stealing A Yacht And Taking It On A Joyride

A Texas woman is now in custody after she was accused of stealing a huge 52-foot yacht and taking it for a joyride off the coast of Galveston.

Lorraine Grubbs lives with her husband on a yacht, known as “Loyalty”, that’s kept at a marina off the coast of Offatts Bayou in Galveston.  Last Monday around 11 AM, when they arrived at the marina, they noticed that their yacht was missing.

To Lorraine and her husband, “Loyalty” was more than just a boat.  It was their home.  They felt like their house had been stolen.  The couple immediately reported the stolen yacht to Galveston Police, the Galveston County sheriff, and even the U.S. Coast Guard.  They also reviewed the marina’s surveillance video, which showed a woman boarding the yacht, and untying the board before riding off with it.

After reviewing the surveillance video, Galveston Police identified the woman as 45-year-old Renee Waughspack. KHOU reported that two hours later, law enforcement found the yacht moored to a pier located at 7509 Broadway.  When police recovered the boat, Waughspack was taken into custody and charged with ‘unlawful use of a motor vehicle’, and ‘possession of a controlled substance’.

Get our free mobile app

What’s even stranger, is that Waughspack left an odd note behind for the boat’s owners to read.  According to KHOU, the note said “Boat is sold.  I have been looking for people to have lunch with and I can’t find them, so I am taking the boat, and going to Kemah and we are having lunch at Boondoggles.”  The note also had an individual’s name and phone number written on it.

Investigators are still trying to determine how this woman obtained the keys to start the yacht, and how she even got into the marina where the yacht is kept.  Thankfully, “Loyalty” was recovered without any damages.