{"id":405326,"date":"2026-07-20T15:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T15:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/405326\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T15:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T15:18:11","slug":"california-city-manager-locked-herself-on-yacht-in-bizarre-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/405326\/","title":{"rendered":"California city manager locked herself on yacht in bizarre incident"},"content":{"rendered":"

A California city chief allegedly locked herself inside<\/a> the wheelhouse of a \u201crandom\u201d 75-foot yacht and repeatedly sounded its horn before two bottles of booze were found empty in a bizarre early-morning episode ending with her arrest.<\/p>\n

Elaine Forbes, 53, who started as Sausalito\u2019s city manager just three weeks ago, was allegedly discovered aboard the Lisa Marie early Saturday after Captain Bill Aubrey heard its horn blaring shortly after 5:30 a.m., The San Francisco Standard<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

Forbes\u2019 family has since said she has been experiencing a \u201cmental health crisis\u201d and urged the public not to \u201crush to judgment\u201d as more details emerge about the stunning incident.<\/p>\n

Elaine Forbes started as Sausalito\u2019s city manager weeks ago and was allegedly discovered aboard a yacht Saturday. Port of San Francisco<\/p>\n

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Forbes was booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of felony burglary. Obtained by the CA Post<\/p>\n

\u201cElaine Forbes has devoted much of her life to public service and is widely respected by the many people who have worked with her over the years,\u201d spokesman Sam Singer said in a statement on behalf of Forbes and her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask that no one rush to judgment based on limited information. Elaine is experiencing a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the facts become clearer and Elaine obtains legal and healthcare counsel in the coming hours and days, we hope people will respond with compassion, patience and respect for her and her family during an extraordinarily difficult time,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n

Aubrey, who was moored nearby, told the outlet he heard the yacht\u2019s horn around the same time an emergency vehicle with sirens was passing through the area.<\/p>\n

Captain Bill Aubrey checked the yacht the night before, as he does nightly, and found no apparent damage. Lisa Marie Yacht<\/p>\n

He recognized the sound as coming from the 75-foot vessel and rushed over, where he said he found Forbes inside the wheelhouse after she had allegedly locked herself in and was sounding the horn.<\/p>\n

When Aubrey boarded the yacht and told Forbes to get off, she looked at him and pleasantly replied, \u201cGood morning!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t seem disheveled,\u201d Aubrey said, describing her demeanor as \u201cnormal, friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Aubrey said he later discovered a large bottle of Grey Goose vodka and a bottle of tequila, full the previous night, were empty.<\/p>\n

When Aubrey boarded the yacht and told Forbes to get off, she looked at him and pleasantly replied, \u201cGood morning!\u201d Linkedin<\/p>\n

He said he checked the yacht at about 9:15 p.m. the night before, as he does nightly, and found no apparent damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn\u2019t staggering,\u201d Aubrey said, \u201cbut the booze was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marin County Sheriff\u2019s spokesperson Lt. Domenick Yazzolino told The Standard that Forbes picked \u201ca random boat\u201d to allegedly break into.<\/p>\n

Forbes initially told deputies the vessel belonged to her, but investigators later contacted its owner, who confirmed she did not have permission to be aboard.<\/p>\n

Sausalito City Council placed Forbes on administrative leave following a closed-session meeting. Google Maps<\/p>\n

She allegedly explained to authorities she was having \u201ca bad morning\u201d and insisted they leave what she claimed was her boat.<\/p>\n

Aubrey also told The Standard that deputies said they had been searching for Forbes for four days after a missing-person report had been filed.<\/p>\n

Forbes was booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of felony burglary.<\/p>\n

Bail was set at $50,000, and booking records showed she remained in custody as of late Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The arrest came less than three weeks after Forbes began her $275,000-a-year job as city manager of the affluent Bay Area enclave<\/a> on July 1.<\/p>\n

The arrest came around three weeks after Forbes began her high-paying job as city manager of the Bay Area enclave. Google Maps<\/p>\n

It also came just two days after the Sausalito City Council placed her on administrative leave following a closed-session meeting.<\/p>\n

Officials have not publicly explained why Forbes was placed on leave.<\/p>\n

The City of Sausalito called Forbes\u2019 arrest \u201ca difficult development for our City staff and our community\u201d and said it would not comment further while the investigation remains active.<\/p>\n

Forbes was appointed Sausalito\u2019s city manager in May after announcing last September that she would step down as executive director of the Port of San Francisco<\/a>, a role she had held for nine years.<\/p>\n

During her tenure, Forbes oversaw a staff of about 270 and managed major waterfront initiatives. sausalito.gov<\/p>\n

She became Port director in 2016 after serving as interim director and was, at the time, one of the few women in the country leading a major US port.<\/p>\n

During her tenure, Forbes oversaw a staff of about 270 and managed major waterfront initiatives, including seawall reinforcement and planning related to sea-level rise along the Embarcadero.<\/p>\n

In her final year at the Port, she was a public face of the Fisherman\u2019s Wharf<\/a> Forward initiative, which proposed replacing the shuttered Alioto\u2019s Restaurant building with a public plaza overlooking the wharf\u2019s fishing fleet.<\/p>\n

Before taking the top job, Forbes served as the Port\u2019s chief financial officer and deputy director for finance and administration.<\/p>\n

She previously held public-sector roles in San Francisco and Oakland, including serving as finance director for the San Francisco Planning Department, and worked for nonprofit land-use and economic-development organizations.<\/p>\n

The City Council is expected to address the matter at its regular meeting Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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