Emergency crews were at Burnaby Lake Monday after an early-morning park visitor came upon an empty canoe and a pair of oars floating in the water.
The vessel was spotted near the footbridge behind the Bill Copeland Sports Centre shortly after 7 a.m., according to RCMP Cpl. Mike Kalanj.
“An officer attended the area and located the canoe, which had no damage (and was) floating upright with nobody around,” he said. “Two oars were also located in the lake a short distance away. Both items were seized by police.”
The fire department dispatched its rescue boat after a call from police, and firefighters and an RCMP officer could be seen on the water searching the area.
“They’re doing a search where the canoe was located,” assistant fire Chief Gavin Summers told the NOW at the scene.
“We have a boat so we can search the water in the event of any bodies or anything like that,” he said.
But Kalanj said “nothing suspicious or concerning was located” by the end of the search.
RCMP have since determined the oars and canoe had been stolen during a break-in at the nearby rowing club over the weekend, according to Kalanj.
Nothing else appeared to be missing, he said.
