Coast Guard detains 14 people on disabled boat near Solana Beach

The U.S. Coast Guard detained 14 people Thursday, Aug. 10, after authorities found the group on a disabled 18-foot boat near Solana Beach Thursday morning, a federal official said.

The federal agency was notified by the Department of California State Parks around 10:30 a.m. that a boat was attempting to “land near Carlsbad,” Petty Officer Alex Gray said. Local police and lifeguards stopped the boat before it reached shore.

The boat continued south along the coast and attempted to land at Fletcher Cove, west of state Route 101 and Sierra Avenue, Gray said.

The boat broke down roughly 100 yards offshore.

One man jumped into the water as the Coast Guard approached the disabled boat, Gray said. He was detained by lifeguards.

The Coast Guard detained 13 others still on board the boat. The group was handed over to Border Patrol custody, Gray said.

Gray noted they were mostly Mexican nationals, but said it was not immediately clear why the men were attempting to land the boat on the beach.

The boat was not the first seized in the area on Thursday. Surfers discovered an abandoned boat believed used for human smuggling on the beach around 6 a.m. at Del Mar’s Sea Cliff Park.

The boat, described as a pleasure craft, was found off Coast Boulevard near 15th Street, said Border Patrol spokesperson Dan Anderson.

Two life preservers were found nearby.