Someone stole the bronze turtle from the Gage Park fountain

Even with social distancing measures in place and the majority of Hamiltonians staying in their homes, bizarre crimes continue to pop up in the city; from the senseless and devastating arson attacks in the downtown core, to the apparent theft of the pride flag outside of Emerald Coffee in Barton Village.

Now, we can also add the strange theft of one of the 20-pound bronze turtles from the Gage Park fountain.

The turtle, which has been missing since at least this past weekend, has been an iconic piece of the landmark Gage Park fountain for nearly a century since the fountain was originally erected in the 1920s.

Attention, presumed reptile raiders: bring back the beloved Gage Park turtle — or risk East End justice #HamOnt https://t.co/dPnqeajIwI pic.twitter.com/PUojVNvCd6

— Hamilton Spectator (@TheSpec) May 13, 2020

Hamilton’s city heritage manager John Summers has been on the case, even extending a generous and time-sensitive offer for the alleged thief to return the heritage statue to its rightful place, no questions asked.

This isn’t even the first time one of the iconic turtles has been stolen, and the idea that the turtle may be returned to its Gage Park home isn’t far-fetched.

According to a report in the Hamilton Spectator, the first theft took place in 1996 and the mystery thief ended up returning the statue overnight. Whether or not the same will happen with this new theft remains to be seen.

If the turtle isn’t ultimately returned, the city does have a mould they can use to replicate the statue; however, this wouldn’t occur until after Hamilton’s COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

Lead image courtesy of @chat_photography

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• coronavirus
• COVID-19
• crime
• East End
• fountain
• gage park
• Hamilton
• HamOnt
• heritage
• pandemic
• statue
• stolen
• Theft
• turtle