OPP probing discovery of around 100 rusty nails at Port Dover beach

Provincial police in Norfolk County are investigating after some 100 rusty nails were found located in the sand along the shoreline of Port Dover’s main beach.

Police said they first received a call from concerned members of the public about the nails around 3 p.m. Monday.

Few details are known at this point. Investigators said they determined the nails had been dropped along the shoreline by an unknown number of people.

Several people, including families with small children, located the nails in the sand stretched along the shoreline, police said. In total, approximately 100 nails were picked up from the beach area and turned over to officers.

OPP Const. Ed Sanchuk said police received information from members of the public speculating the nails may have been there as a result of two fires that occurred in the area, one in the early 1920s, the other in 1979.

“However, after speaking to the complainants that provided police with this information, it appeared to the victims that these nails were intentionally or deliberately placed along the shoreline with regards to how they were located in the sand, and with the fact that with the warmer months we’ve had lately, that we haven’t found these nails earlier,” Sanchuk said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "However, after speaking to the complainants that provided police with this information, it appeared to the victims that these nails were intentionally or deliberately placed along the shoreline with regards to how they were located in the sand, and with the fact that with the warmer months we've had lately, that we haven't found these nails earlier," Sanchuk said.

“We’ve had thousands of people on the beach, and no one has contacted police to report this in the past,” Sanchuk said, adding it wasn’t clear how old the nails were.

“Maybe nobody planted these nails there… but right now, it appears from speaking to the victims and the witnesses that were down there at the beach that these nails were deliberately placed on the shoreline.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact provincial police at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

With files from Matthew Trevithick