Nicky

Miles Beyond - yes the 2 males arrested have said they 'brought' the boat and the person they 'allegedly' brought it from is going to be arrested when the police eventually get their act together and decide to do it Sorry but poor excuses like 'its Remembrance Day & we're all out on traffic duty' just don't suffice especially when this 'arrest' has been pending since Wednesday when we recovered OUR boat The reason we hadn't made this 'public' was because the person in question, by now must be well aware he is going to be arrested, we wanted to keep it quiet as we didn't want him disappearing We naively thought once the boat was recovered that would be the end of it for us (bar obviously some sort of criminal proceedings against those responsible) but this has now turned into a greater nightmare than we'd ever imagined The person that allegedly sold the boat to these 2 males was the person we believed to have been involved right from the very start, there were far too many coincidences for it not to be We're completely in the dark once again thanks to our great judicial system (its an absolute joke, protect the criminals & leave the victims to pay the price of their actions) We have been told we are not allowed to touch the boat, board it or anything as there might be a dispute of ownership?!?!? As I'm sure you're all aware this causes huge problems for us as it means the work can't be done on the boat, the boat can't be insured, we have BW on our backs as we can't move the boat etc etc. The boat is still full of other peoples possessions, (including bags of needles & syringes, nice ) the police have said if we give them the keys they'll take these people to remove their belongings - of course we're not going to agree to that, what is stopping them from taking OUR belongings (the police never cease to amaze me with their complete inadequacy ) I can assure you MB you have been lied to; Cragdale was at Braunston Puddlebank for just 3 weeks at the time of the theft, it was moored there by my brother after he moved it from Whilton Marina (who will be able to vouch for that!) We spoke to the patrol inspector (Keith) at Braunstone to make sure it was ok to moor Cragdale there until Dave Thomas was ready to work on it (they will both be able to vouch for this) Oh & if you haven't been lied to by them then the police certainly have as they told PC Harris of Daventry police, on the Wednesday they were arrested that they had brought the boat the Wednesday before! (the day the boat went missing, they also said they were told by the person that sold them the boat they had to take it that day if they wanted it) I'd love to have the opportunity to speak to whoever it is you have spoken to, maybe they could say why they went to such trouble to disguise a boat that they truly believed they owned. The paintwork was fine as I've said a few times already, we'd hardly used the boat this past 18 months or so and it had been newly painted, the paintwork is now absolutely awful as someone has gone out of their way to change the appearance (painted over the yellow coachlines and when realised white paint didn't cover the yellow stuck red & green insulating tape over it!!!!) they have painted both ends of the boat, put boards over the old boards that my dad described on both posters & here as being 'past it', covered the CRAGDALE name, put tarpaulin (sp?) over the top of it, added a chimney & wood burner etc etc etc. Sorry to be so distrusting & skeptical but they don't seem to be the actions of innocent people to go to so much trouble, in winter, in the space of a week!!!! So to summarise for the sakes of everyone else, the people that were arrested allege they were sold the boat, they have 'proof' by way of a receipt signed by the 'suspect', the police are apparently going to be arresting the 'suspect' sometime this week. The main problem now being that the 'innocent party' will have had almost a week to concoct any story they so wish with the 'suspect' if they are in fact, not as innocent as they like to make out! Disclaimer: everything of course is alleged & MY opinion & MY belief has been put where necessary

Neil & Ross you guys have had way too many judging from your pretty awful spelling But its much appreciated you putting yourselves through so much hardship to help us out Funnily my brother has also spent the entire day in the pub at Foxton after taking the boat down the locks, he does have an excuse however, he's been waiting the whole day for a police officer as we're not allowed to touch the possessions onboard, the police have to remove them I can now tell you all that 2 people were arrested & questioned and have now been released

Coleshill & Virginis are still at Foxton if you're interested, my dad saw last night when taking Cragdale back there What is it you want to know? My brother is at Foxton at the moment so can ask Tony if you want any info

All will become clear soon I promise Christine - we never wanted to sell the boat in the first place & even more so now having gone through this it will be heart breaking to have to sell it Problem is the insurance claim for my dads car crash will not be settled for at least a year most likely and as he was a self-employed plumber/electrician he's without an income until he does get some compensation so I can't see its going to be viable which is sad for want of a year or so Anyway as we can't get the boat back to Braunstone until December when Welford lock opens the work can't be done until then anyway so we'll just have to see what happens, a lottery win would be fab between now & then

Its not our property though so we'll no doubt have to remove it If we could keep it we would but not sure we will be able to as they're quite expensive aren't they?

Aye from me, yes she was doing her job but she done it well & deserves some credit for it. We re quick to complain and should be just as quick to praise as well

Liam - we really can't answer at the moment, as its not as straight forward as you may think (feel so bad after all the help you've all given us ) but in the next 24 hours we hope to make things a little clearer for you all I believe Cragdale is still blue, the yellow coachlines have been painted over and some 'go fast' stripes have been painted on Carpets have all been ripped up so it looks a real state inside at the moment & a unit has been ripped out & replaced with a wood burning stove so that will have to be removed leaving a nice hole in the roof But its back and at the end of the day & that's the imprtant thing I think the 'pink' has come into it because the call about the boat at Earls Barton was someone had spotted someone painting a blue boat pink, got suspicious & called the police

lmao, I'm sure it was hell doing it, guess he should be able to claim back expenses he'd better see my dad for that though! Am off to bed now Speak to you all soon, and thanks again

Thanks very much for that Keith, its taken us a week to get so much publicity & I think it'll take another week at least to get the word around its been found I've just done a 'statement' & sent out some emails to other people/forums and my dad has had lots of press on the phone for follow-up stories so no rest for the wicked just yet (of course its the least we can so I'm by no means complaining!) Just thinking about all the posters we've put all over the place....we'll probably be getting lots of phone calls from people passing Cragdale at Foxton it was a female BW officer, clearly doing her job instead of proping up the bar

The she reference was regarding last nights dad's army joke where I complained about it being sexist as I was the control centre for the search yet the original pic was all males, & now it seems all that was needed was a woman's eye to spot the boat

Just a quicky as its been a tiring week & we all need some sleep A massive thanks to every single one of you Yes it was found by a BW officer & SHE ( ) deserves a huge pat on the back but if it weren't for this forum we'd not have badgered the police or BW as much as we did & we wouldn't have pushed and pushed for as much coverage as we got (national paper, national radio, numerous websites) This time last week we just didn't have a clue where to begin. We'd been on to the police & BW and things weren't looking good. I often use forums & suggested to my dad we find a canal type forum to get some advice on what to do next & from the minute I posted on here the help & support has been overwhelming. You actually spurred us on to continue the hunt The boating community has always been a fantastic community, this has just reaffirmed that & you should all be proud If only all communities were like this one We probably won't have much news for a while now as the police need to do their thing & I guess there's certain things we won't be able to discuss on a public forum. I will say I'm sure they'll be successful though as things are looking good in that sense When we can we will fill you in and when we get some pics of the paintjob we'll be sure to post them Thanks again everyone

Its not far at all, Foxton is where Cragdale was moored originally. Very strange indeed, just hope they get the blokes so we can find out the full story I think it was bridge 56 at Theddingworth

Geez it must be sunny down in Surrey, you've been up here though & its blimin freezing so I'll stay clothed thanks

Sorry I did, I meant it in reply to Ross about the boat at Whilton, it would explain a lot, why the couple were so blase about paying by card etc It is 100% CRAGDALE as the name is still there, just hidden but my brother has now been on the boat with the police to confirm it definitely is

I'm thinking it maybe wasn't Cragdale, there was 3 men spotted on the boat just now

It has been found the helicopter is going up to try to track the 3 men as they've taken off along the towpath it has been painted, still blue but stripes etc to disguise things, they'd tried to cover the name as well thanks so much everyone

Neil thanks so much for that, so sorry it was a wasted trip for you I think you're probably spot on with the bogus call Where was the boat with 3 men moored?

Ross don't go anywhere, I'm hoping I can give you some news very soon, just trying to get some confirmation but bad signals & lots of calls coming in is holding things up

The forum has been fantastic & when the boat is found its thanks to the likes of your goodselves spreading the word Since its gone national the police have more calls to follow up so watch this space....I will get the info to as soon as its possible to

I don't know anyone in that area but the EA maybe able to have a run out in their boat in a few days time IF it is ok to use as it has been having some upgrades done

Hi Andy Thanks for that, do keep your eyes peeled wherever you are as its always possible that last nights 'sighting' was just to put us off. Now its being mentioned on national radio & has been on local radio & in the local press its possible that someone involved in this (person on the boat or person that may have 'sold' the boat) knows we're onto them & is trying to mislead us. Think someone asked if the boat had a radio...it does so more than possible they've heard Thanks Mark, you guys really are great helping out like that Thanks Denis, all eyes greatly appreciated! Boatchad you're so right, its fantastic the help we've had on here, my dad will be owing lots of virtual beers when Cragdale is found Christine, that's a good point, anyone know how I find out all the diesel distributors?

Right have just had a call from my dad, the bottom lock at Gayton is shut & has been since Monday so if they were at Earls Barton last night they are now stuck between Gayton & Irthlingborough Have called the EA officer back about this and unfortunately the officer in charge of that stretch is on holiday this week & he is isn't sure if their boat is able to be used as it was being upgraded (something to do with the safety checks) but he'll have a look about today & let his collegue from further up the river know when he's back on duty tomorrow I left a poster with Ken on Saturday & my parents stopped off there this morning before going onto Gayton

My parents are going to Gayton now in case they're on their way back through there (I guess its possible they found out about Irthlingborough being closed???) EA enforcement officers along the Nene have all been notified by myself this morning, I know the lockeeper at Stanton (?) is on the look out, how do I contact other lock keepers? I thought locks were unmanned at this time of year? Gayton was certainly all boarded & padlocked up on Saturday

Thanks for that Ross, let me know if you have any luck with the Google Earth thingy (you know where you did & didn't look so better you looking than me lol) CSM its so frustrating that it could still be in this area & yet we've still not found it, but then I guess there is always the chance it was someone involved trying to throw us off the scent

I'll ring my dad and see if after doing Gayton they can pop back & check it again Just sorry you had a wasted trip today No the police have said they aren't working on the card details at present as they're following up last nights sighting What areas did you cover Bramley? I believe there's 5 locks between Earls Barton and Irthlingborough? were they all checked and all appear untouched? Irthlingborough is definitely closed - have spoken to an EA enforcement officer who was actually just passing the lock at the time and he said nothing would be going through for another week and it closed last week