Crime & Safety

Man Sought for Kidnapping and Stealing Yacht Grew Up in Belmont

Christopher Maffei reportedly grew up in Belmont and attended CSM, where he met the mother of his two children; he is suspected of kidnapping the children and making off with a yacht.

According sfgate.com, police and the Coast Guard are closing in on the father who abducted his two children and then fled aboard a yacht he stole from a marina in Alameda. The article says the man, Christopher Maffei, 43, grew up in Belmont and attended College of San Mateo. 

Friday afternoon a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules airplane is watching the boat from overhead, and police and Coast Guard boats are en route to intercept the vessel, a Coast Guard official said.

Maffei abducted his two children from his ex-girlfriend’s home in the 100 block of James Court in South San Francisco on Tuesday at about 3 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Belmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police say Maffei then drove to Ballena Isle Marina in Alameda where he stole a 40-foot yacht and sailed away with the two children. On Friday, the stolen boat with Maffei and the two children was located off the coast of Pillar Point near Half Moon Bay. A coast guard vessel was to escort the yacht to the Santa Cruz Harbor Friday afternoon.

A commercial fisherman spotted the boat matching the description of the stolen yacht at about 4:00 a.m. Friday and alerted authorities. The fisherman reported there did not seem to be any distress with the boat.

Find out what's happening in Belmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Patch will update this story as details become available.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Belmont