Playground equipment stolen from new Sudbury, Ont., subdivision
CBC
A Sudbury, Ont., developer was ready to install a playground in a new development, but half of the equipment was stolen overnight.
Jeff Meehan, a construction manager for SalDan Construction Group, said that when he arrived at the work site on Sept. 14 he saw a big blue slide was missing.
"And then further investigation, all the metal bases, metal platforms, spring toys were all missing," he said.
Meehan said thieves took around $30,000 worth of playground equipment from the site, located in a new subdivision of the Greater Sudbury community of Val Caron.
"These families have been waiting for almost four years now for this park to be established," Meehan said.
"And now that we finally got it on the go, we're finally putting things up, and then some sorry soul comes in and clashes all that down. I don't understand it."
Meehan said the playground equipment would be useless to anyone else.
He said there's only one company in Canada that sells that equipment, and it requires special hardware to install.
If someone did install it, or tried to sell it for scrap metal, it would be obvious it's part of a municipal playground, he added.
"I would be just happy if somebody would come by and either drop it off here or drop it off on the side of the road somewhere," Meehand said.
"Let us know where to come, pick it up. No harm, no foul. We would just like it returned. That's the bottom line."
Meehan said he has been in contact with the manufacturer, who has been helpful. Even if they don't get the stolen equipment back, he said they are confident they can still finish building the playground by the end of the year.
Greater Sudbury Police spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn said officers are investigating the theft.