Delta Houseboat Reportedly a Meth Lab; 2 Dead

Byline: Associated Press

SACRAMENTO (AP) — The bodies of two men were found in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on a houseboat possibly used to manufacture methamphetamine, authorities said.

The Solano County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it was contacted about 1 p.m. Nov. 26 by Contra Costa County officials who had found the boat in Spoonbill Creek, about 6 miles south of Rio Vista.

The Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office had been looking for two overdue fishermen when they discovered the houseboat and the two dead men on board.

The area is “very rural and could not be accessed by land,” Solano Deputy Sheriff Daryl Snedeker said.

The men have been identified as Gary Lee Cooper, 72, of Concord and James Eugene McRae, 49, of Martinez.

Their causes of death had not been determined at press time.

Solano County investigators smelled potentially hazardous vapors and found items on the boat indicating that methamphetamines were being consumed and possibly manufactured there, they said.

“The public needs to be aware that clandestine labs and the components and chemicals used in these labs are extremely dangerous to public safety,” Snedeker said.

— Information from the Sacramento Bee was used in this report.