HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are searching for two suspects accused of stealing a boat that was dedicated to a young boy battling cancer.
The family of 12-year-old Dylan, who was diagnosed with leukemia, is desperately pleading for the return of their sentimental speedboat that was stolen earlier this week.
“Return it, please. Have a heart. Just return the boat. It means a lot to our family, please,” said Peggy Botc, Dylan’s grandmother.
Dylan, a Fort Pierce resident, received his diagnosis after a traumatic brain injury at age 6. He has been in remission for four years.
“This boat, it was created for my grandson, when he had leukemia many years ago,” said Botc.
Dedicated to Dylan, the 37-foot vessel, wrapped in a vibrant vinyl, sports an orange ribbon representing leukemia awareness. The deck is engraved with his slogan “Fight Dylan Fight.”
The boat has special features to accommodate Dylan’s wheelchair and even has a special name, Deserved Therapy, representing the family’s journey through Dylan’s leukemia battle.
The family is now searching for the lost boat after they noticed it was missing from their boat storage facility.
“I don’t know how to describe it, other than my heart just dropped down to my stomach,” said David Caponas, Dylan’s father.
Fort Pierce Police retrieved surveillance photos showing subjects taking the boat away on a U-Haul pickup truck.
“I haven’t had the chance, the opportunity, to bring him on the boat yet. That’s what was killing me,” said Caponas.
Since the boat went missing, the family said, it has been spotted on the road in South Florida.
“Last night we got a tip that it was spotted in Hollywood,” said Brittni Davoudi, Dylan’s aunt. “It does still have the wrap on it, it does still have the cover on it. It was still being towed by the U-Haul, so it’s made its way down here somehow.”
Davoudi said she and an army of people are looking for the stolen boat. She is begging anyone that sees the boat to contact police.
“My nephew is a very special little boy, and he has a hard enough life. This was one thing that we could’ve gave him to see him smile, so it’s, like,very important,” said Davoudi.
The family is asking the public to contact police if they see the boat across the South Florida area and to take a photo of where they saw it.
They also have a message for the subjects who stole the boat: if they leave the boat someplace and call police, they will go pick up the boat, no questions asked.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.