Brockville Police are investigating after a nearly 300 pound bell was stolen from the city’s waterfront.
A bell from a turn of the 20th century locomotive was donated to the city and was installed near the railway tunnel in the summer.
Police say it appears the bell was taken sometime between Dec. 24 and 29, 2018.
Hillary Geneau, the executive director of the Downtown Brockville BIA says the thief may not have known the significance of the bell.
“I think it’s really disheartening to see it was taken,” she said. “Maybe the person didn’t know that it was donated by a local business and took a lot of volunteer hours to get it put in and hours by city workers as well.”
And while Geneau says she just wants the bell returned, there has been a silver lining.
“The one good thing about it has been that one person did one bad thing but we’ve seen a lot of outpouring from the community,” Geneau said. “People are recognizing that this was a beautiful bell that we put in and good effort that we did to beautify our city, so that’s been the silver lining, seeing the positive feedback from the community, that they want this bell back and that they care.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477(TIPS).