Hakken Family Kidnapping: Survivalists Now on Sailboat in Gulf of Mexico

An anti-government couple who kidnapped their kids by tying up the grandmother have ditched their getaway vehicle, boarded a boat, and are somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico with their two young boys, according to the latest information from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office in Florida.

The father, Joshua Hakken, is known to be an avid sailor, identifying himself as “Sailing Bull” on at least one Internet forum. The boat is reported to be a 25-foot 1972 Morgan Sailboat.

Photo of the Hakken Family’s Morgan Sailboat. Photo via The Tampa Bay Times.

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On Thursday the family’s pickup truck was found in Madeira Beach, Florida, about 30 miles from Tampa, where Joshua Hakken and his wife Sharyn are believed to have kidnapped their children, Cole and Chase, 2 and 4, from the boy’s grandmother, Patricia Hauser, “My son-in-law just kidnapped my two grandchildren,” Hauser told the 911 responder. “He tied me up.”

The Hillsborough County Sheriff says:

…the 1972 Morgan sailboat has a blue hull with the name “Salty,” a picture of a paw near the back of the hull on each side and “St. Petersburg” in white lettering on the stern. The boat also has a blue Bimini top, and when the sail is unfurled it is white with blue trim. There is possibly a yellow horseshoe life preserver on deck.

My Fox Tampa Bay is reporting that Joshua Hakken bought the boat just prior to the alleged kidnapping.