They couldn’t get off the island, but years later, two of television’s most beloved castaways managed to find their way into marijuana headlines.

Bob Denver, forever remembered as Gilligan, was arrested in June 1998 after a package containing marijuana arrived at his home in Princeton, West Virginia.

Unfortunately for Denver, the delivery service came with an unexpected feature: police.

Authorities intercepted the shipment, arranged its delivery and searched the house. Denver subsequently pleaded no contest to misdemeanor possession and received six months of unsupervised probation.

Then came the detail that turned a celebrity drug bust into enduring television gossip.

Accounts of the incident claimed Denver initially identified Dawn Wells—wholesome, coconut-pie-making Mary Ann—as the person behind the shipment. Those accounts also say he later retreated from the allegation. Wells’ attorney denied she was involved. The claim became part of the story’s legend, but it should not be treated as proof that she supplied the marijuana.

Still, the image was irresistible: Gilligan getting himself into trouble, with Mary Ann’s name somehow dragged into the explanation.

The Professor apparently wasn’t available to build a legal defense out of bamboo.

Nearly a decade later, Wells encountered trouble of her own. In October 2007, an Idaho deputy stopped her while she was driving home from her birthday celebration. Police reported finding marijuana in the vehicle.

Her case ultimately ended with a reckless-driving guilty plea and the dismissal of the drug charges.

That second incident gave the older Denver story fresh life. Two familiar castaways, two marijuana-related arrests, and an alleged connection between them were practically an invitation for people to compress the timeline.

But the distinction matters: Wells’ traffic stop happened nine years after Denver’s arrest. It wasn’t the next step in his investigation.

The real story is peculiar enough without connecting dots that don’t belong together. Gilligan received a marijuana delivery that attracted police, Mary Ann’s name surfaced in disputed accounts, and years later she faced a separate roadside investigation.

For a show remembered for its three-hour tour, the offscreen footnotes have certainly enjoyed a remarkably long run.

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