BETHLEHEM – River watchers first noticed the 39-foot sailboat anchored off the shoreline of the Henry Hudson Park in Bethlehem in the middle of June. As of Monday, the only thing left to see was the mast sticking out of the frozen river.

Of the many questions that come to mind regarding this cold current conundrum: why was it left here and by whom?

“I know it was there all summer, “ said Rick Kelley, a regular visitor to the park. “It sank yesterday.”

Now that it’s winter, you would think there is discontent for anyone who intended to come back for their sailing vessel when rough seas settled.

“To me, it just boggles the mind why somebody would just park a boat here and just walk away from it,” said Sandra Kelley, another frequent visitor to the park.

Curious and determined to solve what had become an every-day enigma, Charlie Buchanan dove into the maritime mystery looking up the name of the ship Teleia on line.

“The boat is registered in Annapolis, Maryland,” Buchanan said. “It was built in 1958.”

Buchanan also came up with the name of a person who may have owned Teleia, a retired doctor from California. When NewsChannel 13 tried to reach that man Tuesday, the number had been disconnected.

“When we noticed it was down, we called the Coast Guard who told us to contact the police,” Sandra Kelley said. “Then when I called the Bethlehem Police, they said in a next few days they’d be dealing with it.”

Even though the wreckage of Teleia sits submerged outside the main navigation river channel, the danger to passing boat and ship traffic is obvious.

Regulars at the river bank believe Teleia sank to the bottom around midday on Monday, Dec. 30, possibly done in by large chunks of free-flowing ice that pummeled its hull.

“I think the fellow that owns it is in his mid-80s and the boat is old enough as well that maybe it just failed,” Buchanan speculated. “The motor may have failed on it and he just decided to leave it there and come back and get it in the springtime.”

“Somebody had to have picked him up,” Sandra Kelley pointed out. “Either that or they paddled in.”

“It had to be a health issue or a boat issue I would think,” Buchanan added.

Responding to News Channel 13’s request for information Tuesday, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation issued this statement:

“DEC observed the approximately 30-foot sailboat submerged in the water but did not observe evidence of a petroleum release to the environment. A New York State Police Dive Team, in coordination with DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement, responded to the area on Dec. 31 to retrieve information from the vessel to help determine its owner(s). State Police reports the vessel appears to be securely anchored and outside the navigation channel. There is no evidence of impacts to the environment or public health at this time, and DEC will continue to monitor the situation. The U.S. Coast Guard was notified and is also investigating the incident.”