After Dive Team Recovers Sunken Boat's Registration, Essex Couple Charged With Illegal Dumping

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A couple from Essex could face fines of $31,500 and be sentenced to more than five years in prison after Maryland Natural Resources Police say they dumped a boat in lagoon.

Mark Alan Bartels, 49, and Kimberly Jan Bartels, 43, have been charged with illegal commercial dumping, abandoning a vessel and altering the identification number on a vessel hull.

Neighbors in the area of Martin Lagoon off Middle River filed complaints with officials and police last year about the 37-foot vessel, partially sunk and tied to a dilapidated pier.

Initial attempts to find the owners were unsuccessful, but last month members of the Baltimore County underwater team dove on the wreck and found that the Maryland registration number was legible, despite the hull identification number being removed.

Officers talked with the previous owner, who said he gave the Bartels the title and $1,800 to tow the boat from Annapolis for salvage. He said they towed it away on June 29 using their own boat.

The next day, the Bartels cashed the check and police began receiving complaints about a boat submerged in Martin's Lagoon.

Using photos taken by the previous owner, officers say they found the tow boat at a Baltimore boat yard and confirmed it is owned by Kimberly Bartels.

The Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office reviewed the case before charges were filed.

The Bartels are scheduled to appear in Baltimore County District Court on June 20.

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