COBDEN — A county plowman noticed the gates to Cobden Home Hardware in Cobden were open much earlier than anticipated Tuesday morning, but let it slide because he had to get plowing.
When Kevin Humphries came into work at 7 a.m., he knew something was off, said Chris Olmstead, owner of Cobden Home Hardware.
“Someone had welding equipment, because the locks were cut through on the gates,” he said Wednesday.
Along with damage to those locks, Mr. Olmstead said, “There was considerable damage to the buildings.”
Staff have been checking to see what was taken, and so far there were seven barbecues and some compost equipment.
“These were things that are in the spring flyers that are going out in a few weeks,” Mr. Olmstead said.
About $3,000 worth of items have been removed and there could be more, he added.
But, there were also things left behind, such as a car battery and the welding equipment used to get in, he said.
Mr. Olmstead said he wasn’t the only business that had items illegally removed. While there hasn’t seen a police report, he believes one of the businesses had a trailer with two snowmobiles on it removed and a van at another business was stolen.
He also believes a truck and a car were stolen from the Eganville area and left in the Cobden area.
Whitewaternews.ca was not successful in talking to anyone at the Petawawa or Renfrew OPP detachments for information on these break-ins.
