Pontoon boat joyride ends in four arrests

SANDPOINT - A spur-of-the-moment decision to commandeer a pontoon boat while floating the Priest River ended in the arrest Friday of three young women and a juvenile.

However, the group managed to steer clear of felony theft and criminal conspiracy charges in connection with the joyride, court records show.

Vanessa Amber Kaelin, 18, is charged with boating under the influence of alcohol and operating the powerboat without the owner's consent, both of which are misdemeanors.

Shyan Milar Watson, 22, is also charged with operating the boat without consent. Raquel Ashley Kaelin, also 22, is charged with unlawful entry. The charge against Emily Karen Watson, 16, is filed under seal because she's a juvenile, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository.

The four, all Newport-area residents, were floating the river when they encountered a slack area with no current, according to a probable cause affidavit. Vanessa Kaelin said she got the idea to take the boat and the other three agreed, a probable cause affidavit said.

The boat heist is also described in the affidavit as a "dare."

They were arrested after making land at the Mud Hole recreation area. They were arrested on suspicion of grand theft and criminal conspiracy, but a judge declined to find probable cause for those charges because there was no evidence of the vessel's value and insufficient evidence that they intended to permanently deprive the owner of the boat, court records show.

Public defenders have been appointed to represent all four defendants, records indicate.