Ohio § 1547.303

§ 1547.303.

(A) As used in this section and section 1547.304 of the Revised Code : (1) “ Abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor ” means any vessel or outboard motor meeting all of the following requirements: (a) It has been left on private property for at least seventy-two hours without the permission

of the person having the right to the possession of the property;  left in a sunken,

beached, or drifting condition for any period of time;  or left in a docked condition,

on a public street or other property open to the public, or upon or within the right-of-way

of any waterway, road, or highway, for forty-eight hours or longer without notification

to the sheriff of the county, the chief of police of the municipal corporation, township,

township police district, or joint police district, or other chief of a law enforcement

agency, having territorial jurisdiction with respect to the location of the vessel

or motor, of the reasons for leaving the vessel or motor in any such place or condition; (b) It is three years old, or older; (c) It is extensively damaged, such damage including but not limited to any of the following:

 missing deck, hull, transom, gunwales, motor, or outdrive; (d) It is apparently inoperable; (e) It has a fair market value of two hundred dollars or less. (2) “ Law enforcement agency ” means any organization or unit comprised of law enforcement officers, as defined

in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code . (B) The sheriff of a county, chief of police of a municipal corporation, township, township

police district, or joint police district, or other chief of a law enforcement agency,

within the sheriff's or chief's respective territorial jurisdiction, or a state highway

patrol trooper, upon notification to the sheriff or chief of such action, shall order

any abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor to be photographed by a law enforcement

officer.  The officer shall record the make of vessel or motor, the hull identification number

or serial number when available, and shall also detail the damage or missing equipment

to substantiate the value of two hundred dollars or less.  The sheriff or chief shall thereupon immediately dispose of the abandoned junk vessel

or outboard motor to a marine salvage dealer or other facility owned, operated, or

under contract to the state, the county, township, or municipal corporation for the

destruction of such vessels or motors.  The records and photographs relating to the abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor

shall be retained by the law enforcement agency ordering the disposition of the vessel

or motor for a period of at least two years.  The law enforcement agency shall execute in quadruplicate an affidavit, as prescribed

by the chief of the division of parks and watercraft, describing the vessel or motor

and the manner in which it was disposed of, and that all requirements of this section

have been complied with, and shall sign and file the same with the clerk of courts

of the county in which the vessel or motor was abandoned.  The clerk of courts shall retain the original of the affidavit for the clerk's files,

shall furnish one copy thereof to the chief of the division of parks and watercraft,

one copy to the marine salvage dealer or other facility handling the disposal of the

vessel or motor, and one copy to the law enforcement agency ordering the disposal,

who shall file such copy with the records and photographs relating to the disposal.  Any moneys arising from the disposal of an abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor

shall be credited to the general revenue fund, or to the general fund of the county,

township, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision, as appropriate. Notwithstanding section 1547.301 of the Revised Code , any vessel or outboard motor meeting the requirements of divisions (A)(1)(c) to

(e) of this section which has remained unclaimed by the owner or lienholder for a

period of ten days or longer following notification as provided in section 1547.301 of the Revised Code may be disposed of as provided in this section.