Victoria Beach, one of the most famous spots in the city of Laguna Beach, is a magnet for residents, tourists and the occasional local celebrity.
On Monday, though, lifeguards found something they don’t usually see on the sand: an abandoned, broken-down Panga-style vessel stocked with life jackets and fuel cans. Authorities believe the boat was used to smuggle migrants across the border.
The morning shift of lifeguards discovered the boat when they arrived around 6:20 a.m.
“It was a 24-foot single outboard vessel that ran aground and capsized,” said Kai Bond, chief of Laguna Beach Marine Safety.
There was “no sign of anyone associated with the boat,” Bond said. Lifeguards searched the beach and the water and saw “no signs of distress.”
It took officials about six hours to remove the crumbling watercraft from the beach, he said.
Steven Day, a local resident, was among the first to spot the boat in the morning.
The beach has been especially crowded this summer after being “blown up by social media,” he said. The day before the landing, the beach had hosted a volleyball tournament and was swarmed with people.
It was empty when he saw the boat early Monday morning.
By around 6:30 a.m., marine interdiction agents with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol were notified of the abandoned watercraft at the beach, agency spokesperson Gerrelaine Alcordo said in a statement.
The agents found “12 life jackets and 10 fuel cans onboard the vessel,” Alcordo said. No arrests were made.
The vessel was seized for suspected violations of the federal law that prohibits bringing noncitizens into the country outside of designated ports of entry, Alcordo said.
Boat landings by migrant smuggling operations are not uncommon along California’s southern coast, officials said, though Victoria Beach is not a typical arrival spot.
It’s been an eventful summer in Laguna Beach. Increased tourism has brought trash, traffic and frayed tempers to the community; residents say crowds began to overwhelm the city at the beginning of the pandemic and haven’t eased up since.
In a viral TikTok video posted in July, a homeowner yelled at a family at Victoria Beach, telling them that they were on her private property as they tried to enjoy the beach.
“Get f—ing moving,” the woman yelled at the family, which included a child. “Get out of here. Now!”