KITCHENER – A popular canoe rental business has taken a hit after a trailer filled with merchandise was stolen from their property.
Shelly Jo Holmes owns Canoeing the Grand. She says that she woke up on Thursday morning to find the trailer had been taken from her driveway.
It was a 2018 wedge-nose cargo trailer made by Action Trailers, measuring 8.5 by 16 feet.
Inside was more than 60 inflatable tubes, life jackets, straps and paddles. The value of everything: between $30,000 and $40,000, Holmes estimates.
She says the culprit or culprits knew what they were doing, bypassing the brake lock on the trailer and the heavy duty hitch lock.
That's not to mention the three locks on all the doors.
Holmes says tubing is a big part of their business, and calls the theft devastating.
"The impact to me is three seasons of saving for that," she says.
"I bought the tubes quite a few years ago and we've added to that flotilla, but last year we added the trailer which we were very proud of. But it took me a long time to save for that."
The trailer contained most of their tubing supply, but the business hopes to bounce back by next summer.
Holmes says she's hoping any nearby businesses or residents with security cameras can help figure out who did this.
Police say they are investigating the incident and are asking anyone with information to contact them.
