Police are investigating after two 18-foot, 700-pound steel beams were stolen from the Heart’s Haven Memorial Park in Debert, N.S., a 16-acre park being built to honour the lives of two women killed in the Nova Scotia mass shooting in 2020.
The two beams were supplied to develop a bridge to connect the memorial sites of Kristen Beaton and Heather O’Brien, two health-care workers who were both killed in the area on that day.
Nick Beaton, husband of Kristen Beaton, took to Facebook on Friday and offered a cash reward for further information that would lead to the whereabouts of the stolen items.
RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Andrew Joyce says police received a report of the theft around 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
“The reported value is about $2,000 each for each beam,” he said. “The theft is believed to have occurred between April 14th and the 17th.”
Darcy Dobson, daughter of Heather O’Brien, posted on the park’s Facebook page on Friday and encouraged the community to reach out if they had additional information.
“These beams are 700 pounds each and would have needed a trailer and more than one person to load,” she said.
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Marie Benoit, councillor for the Municipality of Colchester’s District 9, which includes the community of Debert, says the theft of these items is “deplorable,” especially with it happening during the week of the tragedy’s third anniversary.
“This park means a lot and to have people just come in and take what they want, I don’t understand it, I never will,” she said.
She said community members and the municipality have already stepped up and offered to replace the stolen beams if they can’t be recovered.
Benoit said the park, which will feature walking trails and a playground, is expected to be finished sometime in June as long as workers can access the beams necessary to complete the bridge.
“It’s going to be a place for everyone to come and relax and reflect and think about those that we lost, but also a place for kids to run around and have fun as well,” she said. “There’s a lot of grandchildren on the O’Brien side.”
Police say the matter is still under investigation at this time.
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