Missing person report filed before Sausalito city manager's arrest on alleged attempted yacht theft

SAUSALITO, Calif. (KGO) -- Sausalito City Manager Elaine Forbes was arrested early Saturday after authorities say she boarded multiple vessels at a local marina, including a 66-foot yacht that investigators believe she may have been attempting to take.

Forbes, 53, was taken into custody after Captain Bill Aubrey discovered her aboard the Lisa Marie and called 911.

"She had the horn going, the windshield wipers going, the spotlight going," Aubrey recalled.

According to Aubrey, Forbes appeared calm when confronted.

"I told her to get off the boat," he said. "She looked at me and said, 'Good morning.' She was very friendly."

Authorities allege Forbes broke into the yacht and manipulated its controls. Investigators are also examining damage reported on at least one other vessel at the marina.

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Boat owner Andy Cunningham said she was shocked by what he found after being contacted by police.

"I came down here, police met me at the boat, and we discovered unbelievable chaos on my boat," Cunningham said.

Cunningham said clothing had been removed from storage and appeared to have been tried on. She also reported food and alcohol had been consumed.

"She took all my clothes and tried them on. They were inside out," Cunningham said. "There was a jar of maraschino cherries she dumped into a shoebox. She had drunk a lot of alcohol, four bottles of our wine."

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The Marin County Sheriff's Office said a missing-person report for Forbes had been filed Friday, just hours before her arrest.

The incident came only days after the Sausalito City Council approved a leave of absence for Forbes, who had been serving as city manager for approximately three weeks.

Family spokesperson Sam Singer said Forbes was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of the incident.

"Elaine Forbes, who's a highly respected public servant, had a mental health crisis," Singer said.

Singer also said Forbes has been going through a divorce from longtime partner Angela Calvillo, clerk of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. According to Singer, Forbes lives on a houseboat near the marina where the incident occurred.

"She does, in fact, live on a houseboat," Singer said. "In her mental health crisis, she may have believed she was on her houseboat but didn't recognize it wasn't hers."

Before joining the City of Sausalito, Forbes served as director of the Port of San Francisco. She resigned from that position last September after nine years.

Back at the marina, Aubrey said he harbors no ill will toward Forbes despite the unusual encounter.

"Am I angry? No," he said. "Do I feel bad about what she's going through? Yes."

Forbes remains in custody at the Marin County Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning.