MASSEY - The historic bell stolen from outside S. Geiger Public School in Massey in October was located by OPP in a pickup truck being driven by accused thieves after officers conducted a traffic stop of the “suspicious” vehicle in Espanola at 4 a.m. Oct. 31.
This, according to Provincial Const. Berkley Parisien, community safety officer/media officer with the Manitoulin OPP.
The bell, which has a plaque bearing the dates 1894-1951, and was relocated from Massey Public School when it closed in 1999, has now been returned to S. Geiger School.
A phone call to the school was not returned as of the article’s publication. However, Rainbow District School Board communications staff did provide a written statement.
“We are pleased the bell has been returned to S. Geiger Public School,” said the school board statement. “We thank the OPP for their efforts. The bell is an important part of school history in the Massey community. It can now be preserved for generations to come. The bell is safe and secure inside the school, where it will remain while we consider options for a permanent display. The base was damaged when the bell was removed.”
Two people, a 38-year-old Massey man and a 40-year-old Espanola man, are facing multiple charges in the case, which include drug and weapons charges on top of possession of stolen property charges.
This is just one of a series of similar thefts to take place in Northeastern Ontario recently, which also include the thefts of at least two other bells in the past year, as well as of plaques and statues. Some have speculated the thieves are hoping to cash in on the scrap value.
Parisien said police are not aware of any connection between this case and the other thefts. She said it’s hard to know why the Massey bell was taken. Asked if it could be for the scrap value, she said that’s “obviously a possibility to consider.”
“If people are worried about things of that nature being taken, I think it's just better to err on the side of caution and just be mindful that that's a possibility, that if things are outside, they could be stolen,” said Parisien, who advocates security cameras be put in place.
Rainbow board communications staff said the Massey bell is “quite heavy and likely made of steel.”
Statistics Canada numbers included in a CBC article show that metal theft grew 56 per cent between 2018 and 2022.
Besides the theft of bells and statues, with high copper prices, copper wire has become a target, causing outages in the telecommunications industry.
A fact sheet on the RCMP’s website said that “metal theft is a growing and challenging problem that tends to be underestimated. Local wire and metal theft problems can be linked to international demand and high prices for metal.
“Thieves target all kinds of metals,” the fact sheet continues. “Theft can include catalytic converters in cars, copper boat propellers, metal roof gutters and fencing. Wire from street lamps and telephone cables are also vulnerable, as well as vacant buildings and homes under construction.”
Meanwhile, the historic bell stolen from the Massey school was not the only stolen property recovered by the OPP following the Oct. 31 Espanola traffic stop.
Provincial Const. Parisien encourages those in the North Shore area who may be missing items to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 with a description of those items.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor.
