OPP patrol boat stolen and set ablaze on Lake Erie

PORT STANLEY, Ont. – Ontario’s provincial police say one of their patrol boats was stolen and set ablaze in Lake Erie on Wednesday morning.

Investigators say the seven-metre vessel was taken from a marina in Port Stanley, Ont., around 2:45 a.m. and driven about one kilometre to Port Stanley Harbour on Lake Erie.

Police say the boat was then set on fire and destroyed.

OPP say the boat’s location and access to the area made firefighting efforts difficult.

Elgin County OPP say a temporary replacement boat is being arranged from provincial police headquarters in Orillia, Ont.

The boat was valued at about $85,000.