Action 7 Reports — They thought they’d saved them all. They were wrong.

When Tacoma Police marine officers first boarded the rotting sailboat anchored off Owen Beach last Thursday, they expected to find a derelict vessel. Instead, they discovered a floating nightmare: more than 30 cats and kittens, frightened, malnourished, and trapped aboard an abandoned boat bobbing in Commencement Bay.

But the horror didn’t end there.

Days after authorities declared the initial rescue a success, shocking new revelations emerged — dozens of terrified felines remained hidden in the vessel’s dark, inaccessible corners, cowering from their would-be rescuers.

“Dang, I want to rescue them. It’s sad,” said Logan Jacobsen, whose family escorted a KING 5 crew by boat to the anchored sailboat on Saturday. As they approached, Jacobsen counted aloud: “One, two, three, four… wow! So far that’s how many I see. Five.”

But the true number remained a grim mystery, with more cats lurking beneath debris and deep inside the vessel’s suffocating below-deck compartments.

David Bye, walking along the shoreline path Friday, watched the unfolding drama through binoculars, unaware of the scale of the crisis. “We had our binoculars with us and observed officers on the police boat, but couldn’t figure out what they were doing,” he said. “We didn’t find out until [Saturday] that they found a hoard of cats on the boat.”

Police initially believed all animals had been removed by Friday. But the department later conceded a devastating truth: some cats were simply too terrified and traumatized to be reached, hiding in areas officers couldn’t access.

The desperate rescue operation pivoted to a new strategy — authorities placed large, clean crates stocked with food and water aboard the ghost boat, praying hunger would lure the hidden felines from their dark sanctuaries.

“Many of the cats were frightened and malnourished, requiring patience, care, and a tremendous amount of teamwork from our members,” the department said in a statement.

Monday morning delivered the final, dramatic verdict: a police spokesperson confirmed to KING 5 that “all cats have been removed” following a second, expanded search warrant that allowed authorities to thoroughly scour every corner of the vessel.

The boat, legally registered and anchored for what police describe as a “long time,” now sits empty — but the questions remain. What drove someone to abandon so many animals on a sinking ship? And what consequences await the owner?

Tacoma police say potential charges will be announced “as soon as possible.”

The marine unit is now actively determining the vessel’s fate. But for the rescued cats, a new chapter begins — one finally free from their floating prison.

This is a developing story. Action 7 News will continue to follow this investigation.