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Man from U.S. caught trying to enter Canada by kayak, LaSalle police say

LaSalle, Ont., police say one of their officers made an unexpected discovery early Wednesday morning — finding a man from the U.S. who allegedly was trying to illegally enter Canada by kayak.

Police with southwestern Ontario force detained 51-year-old, turned him over to RCMP

Emma Loop · CBC News ·
LaSalle Police Cruiser
According to the LaSalle Police Service in southwestern Ontario, an officer spotted a man at the edge of the Detroit River with a kayak and two backpacks. After investigating, the officer discovered the man was attempting to illegally enter Canada, police said. (LaSalle Police Service/Facebook)

LaSalle, Ont., police said one of their officers made an unexpected discovery early Wednesday morning — finding a man from the U.S. who allegedly was trying to illegally enter Canada by kayak.

In a news release, the LaSalle Police Service said that around 1 a.m. ET, an officer "was conducting commercial property checks in the 1800 block of Front Road," which travels along the edge of the Detroit River.  

The officer was behind one of the businesses when he spotted a man at the edge of the river with a kayak and two backpacks, LaSalle police said. 

"The officer investigated and discovered the man was attempting to illegally enter Canada."

Police said they detained the 51-year-old from the U.S. and turned him over to the RCMP "for further investigation."

A local spokesperson for the federal police force, which handles border issues outside of official ports of entry, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

LaSalle police Chief Michael Pearce praised the officer's discovery Wednesday. 

"This is an outstanding example demonstrating that proactive police work can yield unintended positive outcomes," Pearce said in the news release.

"While conducting a simple property check, I'm confident our officer did not expect to find someone trying to illegally enter Canada."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emma Loop

Digital Reporter/Editor

Emma Loop is a digital reporter/editor for CBC Windsor. She previously spent eight years covering politics, national security, and business in Washington, D.C. Before that, she covered Canadian politics in Ottawa. She has worked at the Windsor Star, Ottawa Citizen, Axios, and BuzzFeed News, where she was a member of the FinCEN Files investigative reporting team that was named a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting. She was born and raised in Essex County, Ont. You can reach her at emma.loop@cbc.ca.

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