Break and enter cases multiply

Jeff Green | Jan 24, 2018

Over the past 10 days, three sets of break-ins have been reported, each affecting multiple cottage properties, on lakes in South and Central Frontenac. Eleven cottage properties were vandalised on Bobs Lake on the evening of Friday, January 12, five on Sharbot Lake, and six or more on St. Andrews Lake.

As reported in the News last week (Vol.18, no.2 – January 18) an alarm and camera system led one property owner who was in Florida to call both the Ontario Provincial Police and a year round resident who lives nearby, to properties on Bobs Lake near Steele Road in the Tichborne area in South Frontenac. The resident went to survey the damage and came upon the vandals as they were travelling from cottage to cottage, smashing windows, patio doors, tv sets, sinks and toilets as they went.

The witness said he saw two vandals, who jumped off an ATV and ran into the woods just as police arrived. 11 cottages were attacked in that incident, according to witnesses, although the OPP have not confirmed the number.

On January 17th, the OPP were called to investigate another set of break-ins, which took place sometime over the last month on Craig’s Island, Sharbot Lake (West Basin).

In that case one of the cottage owners went to inspect his property on January 17th, and saw that it had been vandalised. In a release that came out on January 19th, the Frontenac OPP said that 5 cottages had been affected by the incident. The release said the following:

Sometime between December 17, 2017 and January 17, 2018, culprit(s) entered five cottages on Craig Island and totally destroyed the insides. Items were thrown around and smashed in each cottage. Estimated damage in total is approximately $75,000. Only item reported stolen was a bush buggy that is valued at $300.

In separate reports from witnesses, the News has learned that toilets, sinks, and patio doors were targeted in the Sharbot Lake incident, as they had been on Bobs Lake.

Then, this past Monday (January 22) a seasonal resident on St. Andrews Lake, which is located off Ball Road in Central Frontenac, emailed the News about another set of cottages that had been vandalised sometime over the last few weeks.

The email included the following description of the damage: “at least a half dozen or more cottages have been vandalised on St. Andrews Lake. Just this weekend we learned about it, some cottagers have been up to survey damage. Broken windows, smashed patio doors, interiors wrecked, fire extinguishers let off inside, toilets and sinks smashed, and more.”

The only OPP release related to these incidents was the one concerning the Sharbot Lake case, although the Frontenac detachment has confirmed they are investigating the Bobs and St. Andrews Lake incidents as well.

Police have not, as of yet, said anything about whether they consider that these incidents are linked, directly or indirectly.

A major complicating factor affecting communications from the local detachment in regard to these cases, is the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigation into the death of Debra Hill (Teal), who had an interaction with police while they were in the area investigating the incident on Bobs Lake.

On January 17 SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon, updating a preliminary SIU news release from January 13, made the following statement: “At approximately 11pm on Friday, January 12, 2017, OPP officers came across a vehicle which was parked on Steele Road, between Bradshaw 3 Road and Maple Grove Lane. One of the occupants of the vehicle fled. The second occupant, a 49-year-old woman, was located outside of the vehicle. Around 1 a.m. - after conducting an investigation - the officers took the woman to her home and they left.

“At approximately 5:30am emergency responders attended the woman’s residence after receiving a call. At this time, two investigators and one forensic investigator have been assigned to this incident.”

There is no information linking Ms. Hill’s vehicle with the vandalism itself. She did live on Steele Road and was not far from home when police came upon her. When asked if the SIU are also investigating the vandalism, Monica Hudon said that the “SIU’s investigation is focused on the interaction that occurred between police and Ms. Hill.”

The OPP have not said whether they consider that the vandalism incidents on Sharbot Lake and Andrews Lake are related to the Bobs Lake vandalism, although the damage seems to have been very similar in all three cases.

All that the Frontenac OPP are saying at this point about the vandalism is that police are “continuing to investigate into these mischiefs and are seeking assistance from the public. If anyone has any information they are being asked to contact the Sharbot Lake OPP Detachment at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at https://www.tipsubmit.com where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward.”