Nueces County Coastal Parks Director Scott Cross released surveillance video and a photo showing four people he says threw a generator, shop fans, tables, and chairs into the Gulf of America overnight Monday, causing thousands of dollars in damage at Bob Hall Pier.
The video shows two people moving through the dark, pulling back temporary fencing to get in and out of the site. Cross says two of the four appear to be the main suspects, later joined by a third to help throw the generator over the side.
The incident remains under investigation. One contractor says he lost about $5,000 worth of tools alone.
Steve Jones has been coming to the pier for over a decade and says news of the vandalism is hard to hear.
"I think it's horrible. I mean, nobody should touch anything that's not their own," Jones said.
Jones says it is discouraging to see a place so many people enjoy get treated this way.
"What are you going to tell your kids... your grandkids? Hey, let's go down to the pier that gets messed up. So I think it's absolutely horrible," Jones said.
County Commissioner Brent Chesney says the vandalism will not go unpunished.
"It's a bad situation and there will be consequences. We will find those people and there will be consequences," Chesney said.
Chesney says the hardest part is not the cost, but understanding why it happened.
"It's really a frustrating situation, to be honest with you. I just really don't understand why people think that kind of thing is funny," Chesney said.
Chesney says the damage adds up fast and that a small number of people are causing the problem. He is also asking the community for help.
"99% of the people do it right. It's that one, two percent of the people that mess it up for everybody else... If you see people out there doing these kinds of things, report them, film them, send them in," Chesney said.
Despite the damage, the county says the pier project remains on track and on budget.
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