Corporal Shawn Elmore - Georgia Department of Natural Resources

IAMI'S 2021 INVESTIGATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Oscars award a Lifetime Achievement award each year. While IAMI has historically reserved the Investigator of the Year award to celebrate one heroic act of Marine Investigations, it is hard to ignore the work of this investigator in just a few short calendar months to start off the 2020’s.

Let’s start two short years ago, February of 2020, were our investigator recovered and returned both a V-Hull Sears and a Canoe (spare the can you canoe comments, please) to their rightful owner. Further to that, our investigator provided enough work to allow the local police (Forsyth County, GA) to identify a suspect and work the case. Some of you know how much of a herculean effort it is to get some counties to work a boat theft.

After an uneventful spring, in May of 2020, our investigator was alerted to a vessel in Monroe 
County, GA that had been registered with forged documents. The boat’s owner had passed away, giving 
his caregiver the opportunity to create a bill of sale by forging the decedent’s signature, even 
enlisting the help of a local notary to do so. Due to our investigator’s diligent investigation, 
charges were filed against both the caregiver and the notary.

July 2020 – our investigators efforts crossed state lines. An Ohio State Patrol investigation on a stolen boat found leads tracing the boat (and suspect) to Savanah, GA. Our diligent investigator located a similar vessel (via social media searches – those bad guys like the TikTok videos as much as we all do) and contacted the account owner. The owner reported that his son was in possession of the vessel in Alabama – and our investigator crossed state lines again. After contact with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the vessel was recovered, and the suspect was indicted in Ohio with charges pending in Alabama. Another stunning win for the good guys! 

The next month, our investigator really showed his chops and diligence. First, the investigators unit (the Marine Theft Unit) responded to an abandoned vessel request on a 2010 Malibu. In a serious case of déjà vu, they quickly discovered that this was the second abandoned vessel request on this boat (perhaps due to the fact that the local sheriff failed to enter the vessel into NCIC – a lesson for us all). Our investigator located the vessel (again) and returned it to the insurance company (again). No 
word on if the Malibu grew legs and ran astray a third time.

Moving along in August, a 1993 Freedom Fisher and 1990 Mariah Ski Boat found their freedom (along with many other vessels) after being stolen from a business in Emerson, GA. Our investigator confirmed the two vessels were sold using fraudulent documents and forged bills of sale, and was able to trace the Mariah back to a marine dealership in Knoxville, TN. I believe the name of the dealership was Ripley’s Ragin’ Recreation – but I don’t think we have confirmation on that. Working with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, our investigator was able to follow the trail of fraudulent bills of sale back to the original and accurate bill of sale. The spiderweb of multiple stolen boats and fraudulent documents led to arrest warrants for the main suspect, his wife, and the recovery of multiple stolen boats that will be returned to their rightful owners.

Doppelganger vessels appeared later in August as an individual attempted to register a boat with a HIN assigned to another vessel domiciled in Georgia. Out investigator inspected the vessel, quickly ascertained the HIN on the transom was altered, and located the secondary HIN. The true identity of the vessel revealed, our investigator was able to determine the vessel was stolen in January 2020 from North Charleston, SC. Working with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, warrants were issued for the suspect who was conveniently out on bond for charges related to another vessel theft.

August ended for our investigator with a bit of a slam dunk, receiving a phone call from Louisiana Department of Natural Resources advising that a Louisiana resident received a letter from an individual in Augusta, GA requesting titles to two jet skis. The jet skis were confirmed as stolen property located in Georgia, recovered, and returned to their rightful owners. 

Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee (I’ve always wanted to say that), our investigator was alerted to an abandoned vessel on the Chattahoochee River. Our investigator was able to locate identification of the boat and tracked down the last registered owner. After finally connecting with the owner’s son, our investigator was able to return what was a stolen jon boat, back to its 
rightful owner.

South Carolina leant assistance again in October. SCDNR located a boat registered twice in 2020 in Georgia that matched a stolen vessel from North Charleston. Our investigator was able to trace a registered owner to Wisconsin, confirmed ownership paperwork, and, by working with the Wisconsin DNR, located the stolen vessel to return to it’s rightful owner. Charges are pending.

Do the math – more than 11 vessels were successfully recovered in the span of less than 10 months. Sergeant Brian Adams from the Georgia DNR says of our investigator “because of (his) many efforts he has earned the respect of his peers and the gratitude of those that he serves. As one of those peers whom (he) has inspired and motivated to service, I (nominate) him for IAMI Investigator of the Year.”

I assure you that our Investigator of Year has also earned the respect of all IAMI members for his service. The (pandemic delayed) 2021 Investigator of the Year is…from Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division…Corporal Shawn Elmore.