Salt Spring Island RCMP are looking for the owners of several boat motors believed to have been stolen after a collection of motors was discovered on a floating structure in Ganges Harbour earlier this month.

The unusual discovery appears to have first come to public attention through a post shared on social media, after a local boater went searching for his own missing dinghy.

Ben Barter wrote that he had returned to Salt Spring after several weeks away for work to find that his dinghy was missing from his boat.

After searching around Ganges Harbour and the area he referred to as Squalor Bay, Barter said he spotted his own motor mounted on a makeshift floating structure alongside as many as nine other motors.

Barter said members of the Harbour Authority of Salt Spring Island (HASSI), Salt Spring RCMP and several friends helped him return to the site, identify his motor and recover it.

His dinghy itself had not been recovered at the time of his post. Barter shared photographs of the missing dinghy as well as the collection of motors in the hope that other people might recognize their missing property.

The discovery appears to be the same collection of motors now in police hands. The Times Colonist reported Thursday that Salt Spring Island RCMP are seeking the rightful owners of several boat motors believed to have been stolen after they were found on a raft in Ganges earlier this month.

The social media discussion also suggests Barter may not be the only local boater to have recently had marine equipment stolen.

Another person reported having a Highfield dinghy stolen overnight from the Rotary dock over the August long weekend. They described the dinghy as having an aluminum hull, a front hatch and distinctive epoxy drips, and said it had been equipped with a Nissan 30 motor. There has been no public confirmation that the theft is connected to the motors recovered by police.

Anyone who has recently — or even some time ago — had an outboard motor stolen may want to check identifying information such as the motor's serial number and contact Salt Spring Island RCMP.

Salt Spring Island RCMP can be reached at 250-537-5555.