East End justice prevails! Stolen turtle is returned to Gage Park fountain — again

A remorseful - or possibly fearful - thief has brought home the Gage Park turtle.

Again.

The 20-pound, water-spouting bronze turtle - one of four adorning the park's nearly century-old fountain - was pinched earlier this month amid COVID-19 chaos.

Hopeful heritage head John Summers suggested at the time the presumed thief could bring back the beloved fountain figurehead, no questions asked."

The reptile raid echoed an infamous theft in 1996 that ended with the mysterious reappearance of another fountain turtle after heritage fans threatened the unknown thief with East End justice," according to David Beland, a longtime volunteer with the Friends of Gage Park.

Sometimes, history repeats itself.

Lisa Farr checked on the stolen turtle's lonely stone perch at least twice daily after reading The Spectator's story about the heritage heist. At around noon Monday, it was still empty.

But at around 5:30 p.m. the bronze beauty was back - although facing the wrong direction" and wobbly to the touch. I ran to it - I was so excited," said Farr, who immediately called police and the city - which handily, included husband and Coun. Jason Farr.

Lisa stood guard" until the Ward 2 councillor showed up with his little green wagon" - as described in slow-moving turtle drama on Twitter - to transport the repatriated reptile to a temporary safe house.

Justice was slow, but it happened," said the councillor, who admitted he was tickled to see the stolen turtle sequel" end happily once again, two decades after the last theft.

Even when I was a kid going to the park, you would meet at the turtles," he said. It's an iconic fountain, and the turtles are a big part of what kids love about the place."

No apology note was left behind with the returned reptile, so it's unclear why the presumed thief had a change of heart.

Perhaps the latest metalurgical poacher also feared the tongue-in-cheek threat of East End justice, said a delighted Beland, who learned of the turtle's return Tuesday.

Maybe they realized there's no money in it. Honestly, the risk of trying to sell that turtle is pretty high because you know someone is going to recognize it," he said. Or maybe whoever it was just felt bad."

If that's the case, Beland would also like to remind any guilt-stricken thieves that other zoological heritage features are still missing from the 1920s-era fountain.

That include a lion's head fountain mouth that was pinched during reconstruction in the 1980s - but also a cat-shaped feature broken off just last fall.

Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com