Two Chester residents arrested for abandonment of watercraft on a public waterway

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[At approximately 1:30 a.m. the morning of July 31 the Cape Girardeau Fire/Rescue boat was sent to the area of the Ford Coal Dock, which is located 3 miles south of Chester on the Mississippi River, to respond to an unmanned boat that was adrift in the main channel.

At 7:25 a.m. the Randolph?County Sheriff's Department advised that the boat located adrift contained personal property belonging to a Chester citizen. Cape Girardeau Fire/Rescue towed the boat to Chester and released it to the Chester Police Department.

The Chester Police Department interviewed subjects leading to other suspects that admitted to placing the victim's belongings into the boat. Apparently as an act of revenge, the boat was set adrift to dispose of the items. Most of the victim's property was recovered with some water damage.

Two Chester residents, 31-year-old Jessica D. Albrecht and 40-year-old Derril L. Heath were arrested and charged with Theft Over $300, Abandonment of Watercraft on a Public Waterway, and Operating a Watercraft with an Open Title.