Cengage Advantage Books: Law for Business 19th Edition by John Ashcroft,Katherine Ashcroft,Martha Patterson

Exercise 17

While Tait and her boyfriend were spending the day at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, they came upon a large fishing boat that had run aground, half in the water, half in the sand. There were already a number of people playing on and around the boat. Tait decided to cut a length of rope from a line, one end of which was in the sand and the other in the water. She then noticed a buoy floating in the water, not attached to the boat, but bearing the same name as the boat. She also picked up the buoy before driving away. A National Park Service Ranger later asked Tait whether he could look into the bed of her truck. The Ranger seized the rope and buoy and cited Tait for removal of private property in violation of federal law. Was Tait entitled to cut the rope and pick up the buoy?