It seems that rental life jackets along Grapevine Lake are growing legs.
At six locations along Grapevine Lake, the City of Grapevine has life jackets that people can put on and wear into the water if they don't already have one.
However, many of those life jackets are disappearing.
"We've seen theft in the past, but this year has been unprecedented," says Mona Quintanilla with the City of Grapevine. "What we've seen is primarily the adult sizes being taken."
The city has made those life jackets available in an effort to keep everyone safe in the water.
"We have relied in the past on very generous donations and life jacket campaigns and so forth that different people have put together. So that has really sustained us," says Quintanilla. "But with the theft that we're seeing and the number of jackets that we're having to purchase, it's really been difficult to keep those life jacket trees filled and provide jackets for everyone who's out there."
While it's possible that the borrowers may be taking off with them inadvertently -- forgetting to return them to the rack when they're done -- Quintanilla says that does not appear to be the case.
"What we're seeing looks to be malicious," Quintanilla says.
Quintanilla says the thefts are putting the program in jeopardy.
"It runs into city budget dollars to try to replace these," says Quintanilla; "and if it continues, we'll have to do away with the program altogether."
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