DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona Beach police are searching for a 31-year-old woman who was thought to be on her married boyfriend's boat that was found unmoored and burning at the Halifax Marina early Wednesday morning.
The woman disappeared hours after police say the boat owner and his wife went to the marina at 2 a.m. to have her removed from the boat.
Police said the 31-year-old woman was previously in a relationship with the owner of the boat. The man told police he ended the relationship with her and told his wife.
The man and his wife went to the marina to have the woman on board removed from the boat, police said. The couple told police the woman repeatedly made suicidal comments during a phone call.
"My husband's been having an affair with this stripper for a year and a half and she's been living on my boat for two days now and I was out of town so I had no idea that this woman was on my boat and I want her off of my boat and I want to file a restraining order because she keeps calling and blowing up my phone. She's the one that came to me and told me about the affair," the wife said in a call to emergency officials.
Police said the 31-year-old had previously been given permission to be on the boat.
Daytona Beach police were called to the marina on Basin Street to remove the woman from the boat.
An operator in Volusia County urged the wife not to confront the woman.
"Oh no, no, no because I know there might be a gun on the boat and she could shoot me and I have nothing to defend myself with," the wife said.
When police arrived, they found the boat in the middle of the channel about 20 feet from the docks because someone had untied it from the dock, according to authorities.
Daytona Beach Fire Department personnel were also called to the marina after police heard at least one gunshot and saw flames coming from the boat. Police said the inside of the boat is a total loss.
Police said there were three firearms on board, including an AK-47 with around 100 rounds, a shotgun with around five rounds and a handgun with around 30 rounds.
"All efforts were made from shore to see if the woman on board was alive and to get her to come out, including the use of a drone, a public address system and a helicopter," Daytona Beach police said in a news release.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife were called in to assist because Daytona Beach police did not have a boat at the time.
Police later boarded the boat and the woman was not on board. Officers said they are looking for the woman to get her side of the story. Authorities said the boat was charred on the inside and was deemed a total loss.
This is not the first time the 31-year-old has gone missing, according to police.
Almost one year ago, the Deltona woman was missing for three days after her pickup truck became stuck in Tiger Bay Forest near Daytona Beach. She was later found and hospitalized.
The couple were seen on the boat after police cleared the vessel. The wife tossed some items from the boat into the water, including a photo of herself and her husband.
The wife told News 6 the affair had been going on for more than a year before she learned of the relationship.
Check back for updates on this developing story.