The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) hopes someone can provide tips to police after a pair of gates was stolen from one of their areas.
Someone managed to take two 12-foot gates from the Cypher Systems Group Greenway at Pinkerton Road in Essex. The gates keep motorized vehicles from accessing the trails.
"Removing these steel gates would have required a significant amount of coordination by the perpetrators, including removal with tools and loading the heavy gates into a large trailer," said ERCA Conservation Service Director Kevin Money.
Money added that replacing these gates will likely cost thousands of dollars, and he has urged anyone with information to contact Ontario Provincial Police.
"These types of incidents impact the use of conservation areas by the public and can result in many thousands of dollars in repairs and replacement costs," said Money. "If someone sees activities that seem amiss or could lead to damages, we encourage them to contact local authorities."
Anyone with information should call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
This is the second time in a month that ERCA has had to deal with unusual activity on one of its properties. Earlier this month, a fire struck the Tremblay Beach Conservation Area, burning nearly 40 acres of wetland. No infrastructure was affected, and there were no injuries, but the Lakeshore Fire Department believed it was caused by an open burn.
