The mystery surrounding a 3 1/2-ton yellow submarine, from Felton, has been solved. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the vessel has been found and the sheriff's investigation has been closed.
A man name Kevin Deetz drove to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office Wednesday and told deputies he had taken the submarine. He said he had permission to take the vessel and said that he was beginning to restore it.
A sheriff's spokesman called the incident a misunderstanding.
The 10-foot-long sub, built by a resident to patrol Monterey Bay during the 1940s and 1950s, was reported missing Feb. 15 from its berth on Steinmaier Road by Carl Barker.
The submarine had been parked on Barker's property for years.
Another man, Irven Thomson, built the submarine from an old propane tank about 60 years ago. He added a turret, hatch, windows and a cement keel, rudder and navigational instruments.
According to the paper, Thomson's grandson gave the submarine to Deetz, who is a local artist.
It's not clear if Barker knew the grandson had given the submarine to someone else.
Sheriff’s deputies set up a meeting between Deetz and Barker Wednesday morning to resolve the ownership questions, according to the paper.
"Now that it's someone who's into the history of it and fixing it up, I'm fine with it," Barker said.
Decades ago, the vessel's original owner would go on vigilante patrols of the bay and used the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf as his home base.
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