RedactedNarrative: On Saturday August 8, 2015 operator was operating vessel number one in Mason''s Inlet near Wrightsville Beach NC.  Passengers on the boat were Operator''s co-worker and three of their neighbors.  They anchored the vessel in the middle of the channel for a while then decided to pull anchor and attempted to go into the mouth of a creek on the south side of the inlet.  
   
  At that point the vessel ran aground on a sanbar.  According to witnesses Operator attempted to free the vessel by reving the engine however this cause the vessel to bog down further in the sand.  Operator then got out and pulled the vessel out into deeper water.  He then started the vessel but realized that something had broken and he did not have any power.  The vessel then began to drift toward other boats so he with the help of others put out a bow and stern anchor to hold the boat in place.  (One witness stated that he observed Operator take several shots of what appeared to be liquor or some type of alcoholic beverage and that Operator appeared to be impaired.)   
   
  Operator and his passengers then went for a ride on another boat for 30-45 minutes.  Upon returning they saw that the rear anchor line was not holding and the vessel had spun around.   Another boat came and picked up the two women and child. While they were gone Operator and Occupant1 saw one of the lower units dangling by some cables.  Occupant1 secured the lower unit to the vessel with some lines.   Later another vessel came back with the other three passengers and picked up Operator and Occupant1. 
   
   Later that evening Operator hitched a ride back to his vessel to sleep on it for the night saying he was afraid of someone vandalizing the vessel or stealing things.    The next morning he hitched another ride back to Wrightsville Beach to attempt to get help to retrieve his vessel.  He returned later that afternoon with tow boats to tow his vesseel back in.  Upon returning the stern of the vessel was sunken and the bow was sticking up out of the water.  Operator stated that some items on his vessel had been stolen from the time he left Sunday morning and when he returned Sunday afternoon.  He also stated at this time he spoke with a deputy by radio that said he had seen some black people driving his boat in the creek.  (After talking with the Tow Boats US Capt. we realized that he was actually speaking with someone on shore who had seen them the previous day with the three black passengers he had on board).  Tow Boats US towed the vessel back to Wrightsville Beach Access Area and then the vessel was taken to Greene''s Marine in Wilmington the first of the week to have repaired.  We first learned of this incident from Greene''s Marine who stated that the vessel was more than likely totaled.
   
      Officer began investigating this incident on Thursday Aug. 13th after Greene''s Marine called. Subject stated that on Saturday Aug. 8th Operator came to his shop around noon wanted him to work on his boat.  Subject told him he could not work on it then.  Subject stated that Operator was intoxicated at the time he was at his shop.  We went and interviewed Operator on Thursday Aug. 13 and Friday Aug. 14th during the day at his residence.  On both occasions he was appreciably impaired.  One witness also stated that Operator appeared to be impaired after he ran his vessel aground.  It is my belief that Operator was impaired at the time of the incident which more than likely contributed to the incident.  However we were not notified of the incident until several days later and were unable to make any charges.  I have since made contact with USCG Wrightsville Beach and spoken with new personnel there to make sure we are notified of all incidents immediately.
   