Boat gives owner the slip

The culprit in the case of a boat reported stolen turned out to be the knot used to tie it to a dock near Corona del Mar, according to Newport Beach police.

An officer responded Sunday morning to the 2300 block of Bayside Drive when the owner of a 11-foot dinghy called to report that it was gone.

The owner told police that the dinghy was last seen two days earlier.

But by that evening, the owner found the boat washed up on the beach about three houses down from where it had been docked, according to police.

Houses along that stretch of road back up to the bay and many have private docks.

“It appeared the boat was not tied to the dock property and most likely drifted away,” according to an officer’s written account of the incident.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck