PHILIPSBURG--The jet ski driver who was detained on Friday after an incident with a passenger has been released.
Acting police spokesperson Inspector Steven Carty said on Sunday that the driver did not have a licence to operate the jet ski. The driver was not a tourist.
Coast Guard spokesperson Roderick Gouverneur had told this newspaper on Friday that the tourist had jumped off the jet ski on which she was a passenger and tried to swim to shore. It was not clear why the woman did this. The jet ski with the driver and passenger went out in Great Bay, but after two hours they did not return.
Gouverneur said the persons who had been with the two individuals on the jet ski had been "alarmed" and the Coast Guard had been called. The Coast Guard and the St. Maarten pilot boat conducted a search for the two. The pilot boat found the jet ski, but with only one person was on board.
"The lady had jumped and tried to swim to shore," Gouverneur said. The Coast Guard immediately started to look for the woman, found her and took her to shore. The driver of the jet ski was arrested when he reached shore.
