Running Free, a 36-and-a-half foot sailboat that ran aground at Norton Point beach on Friday, was still languishing on the beach nearly a week later after salvage and refloating efforts failed. Meanwhile, visitors to the site were reported to be stripping the boat of its contents as it remained lodged in its sandy berth, prompting the Edgartown police to open an investigation Thursday into the thefts.

For Bill Heldenbrand, 67 of St. Joseph, Mo., it was a sad development in a story of adventure that until just a few days ago was rife with fortuitous occurrences.

Mr. Heldenbrand, a novice sailor and runner who travels extensively for long-distance races, said he purchased the 1976 Pearson 365 ketch in December with the goal of sailing it to England. His intention was to participate in a running race in August and spend a year there, he said. He named the boat Running Free to reflect his love of running and the value he put on freedom.

In May Mr. Heldenbrand loaded his possessions into the boat and set sail by himself from Green Cove Springs, Fla. But just one week into the transatlantic voyage, he encountered a severe storm and was forced to abandon his boat two-thirds of the way from Florida to Bermuda.

As luck would have it, he was picked up by a passing tanker and transported to Canada.

Mr. Heldenbrand said he didn’t expect to see his boat again. That is, until late last week, when he received a call from Nancy and Bruce Hulme of Framingham saying that the boat had lived up to its name and washed ashore at Norton Point beach.

The sailboat is believed to have drifted unattended up the coast to Katama over the course of nearly two months.

The boom to the mainsail was hanging over the starboard rail and the jib was tattered when it came ashore, said the Hulmes. But, amazingly, the hull was intact and there was no real danger of the vessel sinking, said Coast Guard members who boarded the boat. The marine radio, powered by solar panels on the stern, was sounding at full volume.

Mr. Hulme, who was vacationing in Edgartown this past week, contacted authorities and tracked down the owners of the boat through an Internet search. His daughter Kelsey, 24, looked up the captain on Facebook and made the connection.

Soon after, Mr. Heldenbrand hopped in his car and headed up the coast from Georgia to reclaim Running Free.

Mr. Heldenbrand made arrangements with TowBoatU.S. in Falmouth to remove the sailboat from the beach, he said. But over the course of nearly a week, those efforts faltered, due in part to tidal conditions.

On Monday an aluminum boat attempting to refloat Running Free was itself damaged when a tow ripped off during a big pull.

“There were no injuries and everyone was okay,” said Dan Carpenter of TowboatUS Falmouth. Still, efforts were temporarily halted.

Mr. Carpenter said arrangements were being made to bring in a 50-foot tugboat from New Bedford on Friday, when tides and currents were more favorable.

As the boat languished over the course of several days, curious onlookers made their way to the remote section of beach. Some stripped the boat of its valuables.

On Wednesday Mr. Heldenbrand arrived on the Vineyard to find that Running Free had weathered storms and traveled the ocean abandoned, but had succumbed to the ill wind of thieves.

“I was pretty disgusted because it had been stripped of my valuables,” he said. “They took a long list of things. They didn’t take the clothes. They took anything of value, navigation electronics, radios, anchors, tools. It was all my belongings. I had planned on being [in England] for a year. Everything that I value was on the boat.”

The sailboat grounded during one of the busiest weeks of summer, said Katie O’Donnell, Chappaquiddick superintendent for The Trustees of Reservations, which manages the Norton Point beach. She and her staff spent most of the weekend telling people to leave the boat alone, she said, but with limited rangers available, they were not able to guard the boat around the clock.

“This is like looting a car after a car accident,” Ms. O’Donnell said Friday. She said Trustees staffers would continue to turn people away from the scene.

As of late Thursday, the Edgartown police said they had been made aware of the looting and were taking action.

Anyone who took items from the sailboat may return them by the end of the day on Friday, police said. “After that the situation will change very quickly — we will pursue this like a larceny case. There will be arrests,” Det. Sgt. Chris Dolby told the Gazette.

The detective said town police learned of the apparent looting well after it had begun and have since tracked down some of the alleged looters through Facebook postings and other information referenced on the Gazette website. “I have names and information and I have evidence,” Sergeant Dolby said.

He said because the boat was being salvaged, there was a mistaken impression that a maritime law applied that allows items on the boat to be free for the taking. “That is not the case here,” Sergeant Dolby said. “The boat has an owner who is registered and made it known that he was attempting a salvage operation.”

“As a result we are offering a grace period and people need to get things back to us ASAP.”

Sergeant Dolby said items may be turned over to any member of the police department.

As for Mr. Heldenbrand, he said he just wants to get his boat back home, and doesn’t know what the future holds for Running Free.

He will still travel to England to participate in a race in August, he said, though it will be a far shorter visit than planned when he first set out to sea.