Deputies: Man bought boat before kidnapping children

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A man wanted in connection with the kidnapping of two boys from a Tampa-area home bought a boat recently, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators said they received information that Joshua Hakken recently purchased a 25-foot sailboat called "Salty."

The sheriff's office provided photos of the boat. They said they don't know the location of the boat.

A truck owned by Hakken was found abandoned Thursday night in a Madeira Beach parking garage

Hillsborough County sheriff's investigators are looking for Cole Hakken, 4, and Chase Hakken, 2.

According to investigators, their father, Joshua Hakken, went into a home on Shady Shores Drive early Wednesday morning, where he tied up Patricia Hauser, the children's maternal grandmother. Investigators said he took the children and left in Hauser's 2009 Silver Toyota Camry.

Along with that discovery, the 911 call Hauser made was released.

"My son-in-law just kidnapped my two grandchildren. They've been in my, uh, state custody. They're under the state custody. He's not supposed to be near them. He's been missing for nine months. He tied me up. I was able to remove myself with a pair of scissors, but they've been gone about a half an hour," said Hauser.

It was discovered later that Hakken was driving a 2006 GMC Sierra, which was found abandoned in a parking garage in Madeira Beach.

On Thursday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued a statewide alert after the car the children were believed to be in was thought to have been spotted in the southeast part of the state.

According to investigators, Joshua and Sharyn Hakken are anti-government and have attempted a previous abduction at gunpoint in Louisiana.

Investigators said the two are considered armed and dangerous.

The boat is described as a 1972 Morgan 25 sailboat with a blue bimini top and white mainsail. The boat deck and cabin are white and the hull is blue with "Salty" and a paw print in white on both sides with a white stripe near the waterline, bearing Florida Boat Registration #FL3717BK, HUL #M252099. There is possibly a yellow horseshoe life preserver on deck, investigators said.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of the children, please contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department at 813-247-8200 or call 911.

WFTV