A Sudbury resident whose stolen vehicle was found abandoned and burned on an unused railway trestle over the Wanapitei River was able to have the vehicle winched off the bridge this week.
Meanwhile, images of the vehicle posted to Facebook have racked up some 12,000 shares.
During the evening of Dec. 7, Bryce Croteau reported to GSPS that he was driving in Garson when a tire on his red Honda (the vehicle appears to be a Civic) blew. He pulled the vehicle over at the intersection of Falconbridge Road and Goodwill Drive and called a tow truck.
GSPS told Sudbury.com Croteau left the area, only to receive a call sometime later from the tow truck company saying there was no vehicle at the location indicated. It appeared the vehicle had been stolen.
Croteau posted a plea to Facebook, asking anyone with information regarding his vehicle to contact him.
Then, on Dec. 9, Sudbury resident Donovan Villars told Sudbury.com he was riding his side-by-side in the Kukagami Lake Road area. An unused (and apparently rickety) railroad trestle that spans the Wanapitei River is a popular spot for ATVers and sledders, and Villars was headed there.
Once part of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs trail network, the state of the trestle caused the OFSC to re-route the trail around the bridge some time ago. OPP Const. Michelle Coulombe told Sudbury.com the bridge caught fire (or someone set fire to it) this past summer and had to be extinguished by the MNR.
Coulombe was part of a patrol that headed out to see the state of the bridge. She described its condition as “very unsafe”.
“Pieces are falling off of it,” she said.
When he got to the trestle on Dec. 9, Villars was greeted with the odd sight of a sedan parked partway out on the span, pulled over to one side of the bridge with the front passenger side tire hanging over the edge, high above the water.
He took photos and posted them to Facebook under the caption “Anybody lose a car?”
A Facebook reader saw the image and notified police. A Facebook friend of Croteau’s saw Villars’ post and tagged the vehicle’s owner so he would see the post.
Finally having learned the fate of his car, Croteau and police attended the scene, where the owner was advised he would have to have the vehicle removed, somehow, from the old trestle. As it was dark at the time and the trestle is in a state of disrepair, officers flew a drone out to the car to ensure no one was inside. It was empty.
In a Dec. 10 Facebook post, Croteau thanked Boyuk Towing and shared images of his vehicle being winched off the trestle. He shared several images, including one showing the burned interior of his car.
No arrest has been made in relation to the theft.
