Arrest made, but stolen deer statues in Elliot Lake had already been scrapped

An Ontario Provincial Police cruiser is seen in this file photo. (File)

A 35-year-old from Spanish, Ont., has been charged in connection with the theft of three deer statues in Elliot Lake in April.

Sadly, the statues had already been sold for scrap metal by the time the suspect was arrested.

The three copper deer statues were stolen April 22 from a tourist information centre at the junction of highways 17 and 108 in the Township of the North Shore, Ontario Provincial Police said in a new release.

“The complainant advised there was a deer display of a doe and her fawn and some of the deer were cut from the display,” police said Thursday.

“The City of Elliot Lake estimate each deer to be valued at approximately $20,000.”

A recycling business in Sudbury contacted police July 3 to report that “a person brought in copper to be recycled, which were later identified as the three deer statues.”

o    Download our app to get local alerts on your device

o    Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

“The business learned that the deer statues may have been stolen, but unfortunately, they had already been scrapped,” police said.

The suspect in the case was arrested Aug. 14 and charged with possession of property obtained by crime worth more than $5,000.

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Elliot Lake on Oct. 10.