Stolen Artwork Recovered; Border Back To Normal

Windsor Police Services confirmed that the stolen work of art from the South Windsor Art Gallery has been recovered and rehung on the wall of the E C Row underpass on Dougall Ave on Friday. The mural titled, "Take The Tunnel," had been on display for several months until it was stolen from the Art Gallery under mysterious circumstances.

Once the announcement was officially made, US Customs immediately reduced the level of security at border crossings across Canada and traffic is now flowing freely.

Because of a secret, joint Canadian-American protocol, the borders had been locked down in the event that the thieves tried to smuggle the work of art out of Canada. A representative from US Customs stated that they were "pleased to be able to assist their friends south of the border down Windsor way and hoped that tourists and truckers were not inconvenienced too much by traffic delays."

We expect that Eddie Francis, Mayor of Windsor and Chair of the Windsor Tunnel Commission must be relieved now. Tunnel traffic had been reduced drastically after the mural was stolen since visitors were looking for directions to take them to the border crossing. Apparently, many of them got lost and wound up at the Ambassador Bridge where the two-way tolls are lower anyway. It seems that many of them confused the Bridge Co. advertising billboard on Dougall with the work of art and went to the Bridge instead.

A Police spokesperson to refused to divulge any details of the recovery other than to state that the investigation was ongoing. The spokesperson did confirm however that the WTC did provide a reward of the 2 paper tokens to use the Tunnel for border crossing to an anonymous informant who provided the vital clues that resulted in the recovery. Arrests of the criminals is expected soon if they have not already fled the country

An artist at a local educational institution said it is not at all unusual for famous pieces of art to be stolen for rich collectors who want the work of art to be hung in their own private gallery. He was shocked however at the apparent lack of security at the South Windsor gallery. "Here we have masterpieces created and the City cannot afford proper surveillance," he fumed. He said that his information was that the robbery took place in broad daylight with the thieves disguised as workers. "Not one person thought to call police. How shocking! The genius behind the plan obviously gambled that no one would say a thing."

Keep tuned to this BLOGsite for further details as the story unfolds