Skip to content

Town backhoe stolen from Fonthill Cemetery

It's big, yellow, and moves at the speed of molasses A John Deere backhoe was discovered missing on Tuesday from the Fonthill Cemetery.

It's big, yellow, and moves at the speed of molasses

A John Deere backhoe was discovered missing on Tuesday from the Fonthill Cemetery.

“It was parked beside the maintenance building at the cemetery, and was last used on the Thursday afternoon prior to the Easter long weekend,” said Jason Marr, Pelham’s Director of Public Works.

The stolen machine was ten years old. The replacement cost of a new backhoe is around $100,000.

Marr said that the Town’s operator would not have left the keys in the vehicle, which is emblazoned with Town of Pelham logos. A source tells the Voice that once the former cemetery caretaker retired, the machine was stored on site, rather than under lock and key at the municipality's Tice Road operations building.

An example of the backhoe model stolen. SUPPLIED

“3 District officers were called to the area of Highland Avenue and Elizabeth Drive in the Town of Pelham at approximately 7 AM on Wednesday, April 15, for the report of a belated theft,” confirmed the Niagara Police. “Officers continue to investigate and are asking anyone with further information to contact them.”

This local theft follows another recent heavy equipment heist in Dunnville on April 8, reported by CBC News on April 13. Ontario Provincial Police officers in Haldimand County said that a backhoe, advertised for sale at $50,000, was parked on property off Highway 3. That machine was recently recovered.

One might think that pilfering a 15,000-pound backhoe (about five times the weight of an average car) would be difficult, especially since its maximum speed is only about 30 kilometres per hour. Hardly a getaway vehicle of choice. But theft of heavy equipment is not uncommon on construction sites, said Marr.

Commenting in a February, 2019 CBC News report, Fred Muldowney-Brooks, vice-president of Risk Services at Canadian commercial insurer Northbridge Insurance, said that one of the problems is the prevalence and availability of master keys, which generally work on any machine of the same brand. But steps can be taken to make the machines less vulnerable.

"There are kill switches for batteries, fuel disconnects, GPS trackers, tire deflators, cab covers that you can put on and lock the windows," Muldowney-Brooks told the CBC. The more layers of theft protection, the better. Of course, staff need to follow the protocols for these interventions to be effective.

"You can put all these things in place, but the plan falls apart if the operator fails to get out of the cab and actually lock down that piece of equipment before walking away,” said Muldowney-Brooks.

Backhoes are frequently used in smash and grab thefts of public-access ATM machines, and to enter hardened structures where expensive machinery is housed.



Reader Feedback

Don Rickers

About the Author: Don Rickers

A life-long Niagara resident, Don Rickers worked for 35 years in university and private school education. He segued into journalism in his retirement with the Voice of Pelham, and now PelhamToday
Read more