© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Taking A Tiki For A Joyride Is A Bad Idea — Journey Ends At Jail

The Coast Guard brings in a floating tiki boat that was stolen Wednesday off Key West.
U.S. Coast Guard
The Coast Guard came cross the floating tiki bar Wednesday morning, with a man slumped over the controls.

Marine officers in Key West foiled an unusual boat heist Wednesday morning.

At about 8 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard came across a 15-foot floating tiki bar off Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West.

Cruisin' tikis, as they're called, are circular boats with a bar. They carry up to six passengers and are rented out for things like sunset cruises or floating bachelorette parties.

WLRN is committed to providing South Florida with trusted news and information. In these uncertain times, our mission is more vital than ever. Your support makes it possible. Please donate today. Thank you.

On this tiki, a man was slumped over the wheel and the Coast Guard "observed signs of impairment," according to Officer Bobby Dube, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Dube said the man became belligerent when FWC officers arrived on scene and resisted arrest but they were able to bring him to shore.

Tylyn Earl Morlang, 26, whose address is listed as "sailboat under Jewfish Creek Bridge" on the jail's arrest log, faces a felony count of grand theft and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and giving a false name to a law enforcement officer.

The tiki bar/boat was stolen from the Hurricane Hole Marina on Stock Island, Dube said.

The Coast Guard later towed the tiki bar back to shore.

Nancy Klingener was WLRN's Florida Keys reporter until July 2022.
More On This Topic