Missing memorial plaque has a permanent replacement

A replacement plaque has been installed at a memorial for a Cambridge boy and a Waterloo Regional Police officer who drowned in the Grand River.

The original plaque went missing from the Parkhill Dam in June, along with two others in Cambridge.

Missing plaque at the memorial for Const. Dave Nicholson and Mark Gage at the Parkhill Dam in Cambridge on June 20, 2024. (Krista Simpson/CTV News)

An anonymous person then put a wooden one in its place.

This is the replaced memorial plaque on July 23, 2024. (CTV News/Tyler Kelaher)

The City of Cambridge confirmed Tuesday that the wooden plaque had been replaced with a new and permanent bronze one last week.

“The replacement cost was approximately $1,500, plus installation,” the city said in an email to CTV News.

The plaque pays tribute to Mark Gage and Const. Dave Nicholson.

On Aug. 12, 1998, Gage ran into trouble while swimming with his friends in the Grand River near the Parkhill Dam.

Nicholson was one of the first responders who tried to rescue the 12-year-old.

Police believed Nicholson found Gage but was then sucked into a sluiceway and became trapped. More than 50 people tried to pull the pair to safety, but their lifeline snapped.

Tragically, both Nicholson and Gage drowned.

The memorial to Nicholson and Gage was placed near the Parkhill Dam in 1999.

Waterloo Regional Police have not made an arrest in connection to the missing plaques.

“We are thankful that the plaque has been permanently replaced to ensure Const. Nicholson and Marke Gage continue to be remembered, and that individuals continue to have a place to go and pay their respects,” they stated an email to CTV News.

"The family is now happy that this is being put back into place," said Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett. "We didn't have it in time for their family memorial, their private memorial that they do annually. We're happy to be able to have it back here again so that they can remember their loved ones."

The city, meanwhile, said the new plaque “should make it more difficult to remove in the future.”

New memorial plaque to Const. Dave Nicholson and Mark Gage at the Parkhill Dam in Cambridge on Sept. 24, 2024. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News)

As for the wooden one, it has a new home.

“[It] was gifted to the Waterloo Regional Police Service and was delivered to them last week, where they plan to put it on display,” the city said.