Abandoned boat removal 'far more expensive' than originally expected, recovery crew says

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The abandoned boat left at Milwaukee's lakefront for months may be gone, but its story is still unfolding. 

On Tuesday, the owner of the towing company that finally pulled the boat ashore talked about the effort it took to do it. 

"I thought it was gonna come over the rock a little easier than it did. I didn't think it was gonna be so heavy," Jeff Piller said.

Piller and his All City Towing crew spent 12 hours using a crane to pull the boat, named "Deep Thought," over the rocks near Bradford Beach almost seven months after it was left there. 

He spoke at the Milwaukee Rotary Club Tuesday, May 20. Someone asked him about moving the rocks to make the operation easier, but he said metal pilings underneath them would have made that even more difficult. 

Piller also revealed that this was a far more expensive operation than the $50,000 he originally quoted to Milwaukee County officials.

"We have went way over that," said Piller. "We are still only - I'm only charging the county and the taxpayers that $50,000. But I have a discount on my invoice that's approaching about $35,000."

We've reached out to Milwaukee County to see where the money is coming from to pay that $50,000 fee. We are waiting for a response.