3 decades later, culprits finally confess to Inuvik heist for town's 60th birthday
Brenda Norris, Ian Butters are 2 of 3 pranksters who stole metal ball from historic monument in the 80s
After more than three decades, a couple of pranksters who stole a piece of a historic monument in Inuvik, N.W.T., are coming clean — revealing details of their casual yet methodical heist.
The petty crime involved a ball, which several people described as "gold-plated," "brassy," "heavy," and "about the size of a volleyball."
We're hoping the statute of limitations is done.- Brenda Norris, former resident of Inuvik
"I certainly remember the controversy," said Inuvik's Mayor Jim McDonald. He's about as old as the monument — born in Inuvik in 1958.
"It just went missing," said McDonald. "It was always a bit of a mystery."
The sphere — which some allege was stolen more than once — is attached to the centre of a sculpture at Jim Koe Park. It's surrounded by three arms reaching together, which symbolizes Inuvik as the "place of man" where Inuit, Dene and other races gathered together. Though erected earlier, then-prime minister John Diefenbaker unveiled the monument during his visit to the new northern town back in 1961.
Then, on one sunny summer night some decades later, the ball disappeared.
Several sources say it was in the early 1980s, but their aging memories can't seem to pinpoint the exact year.
"We're hoping the statute of limitations is done," said 57-year-old Brenda Norris, one of the three culprits who's now coming forward with her side of the story.
"Shenanigans is what we did in Inuvik ... You'd get bored because there isn't much to do, and [get] tired of playing board games, so we think of something."
I just had this fear that the paddy wagon was gonna come around the corner.- Ian Butters, resident of Inuvik
Norris said she was in the getaway car on the night of the heist, with her buddy Ian Butters in the driver's seat. They were both in their 20s.
The third friend — who hasn't yet come clean to CBC — was allegedly the "criminal mastermind" behind the plan, according to Butters.
Butters provided the tools.
"I snuck into my house with my sleeping parents, and tiptoed into the tool room and grabbed the first saw I found," said Butters, 59, who still lives in Inuvik.
The third accomplice was assigned to detach the ball from the statue, the friends say.
"We just sat there and waited and waited, until [my friend] finally came back and said it was not working. We looked, and said, 'that's because it's a meat saw!'" recalled Norris.
The trio retrieved a hacksaw and tried again, just a block away from the local RCMP detachment.
"I just had this fear that the paddy wagon was gonna come around the corner and there's [my friend] over at the monument, sawing away," said Butters.
The "dastardly deed" took about an hour and the pranksters got away.
A ransom note and a bush by the ski trail
Butters said they held on to the ball for a few months before figuring out what to do with it.
"It was in the other fella's freezer," said Butters.
Soon, Dan Holman, the editor of the Inuvik Drum at the time, would get a note written entirely in newspaper clippings. It had directions to find the hidden ball — and it rhymed.
Just be glad we weren't engineers. Who knows what we would have done with the ball?- Brenda Norris, former resident of Inuvik
"I didn't feel like fumbling around in the boonies looking for it, so I just turned it over to the people," said Holman, who published the ransom note in the paper.
"It was a long, rambling poem," recalled Jeff Gardiner, who grew up in Inuvik and now works for CBC North as a production supervisor.
"I picked up a copy of the Drum that week ... and thought, 'Oh! I know where that is.'"
Gardiner said he drove over to the ski trail, found the ball in a bush and brought it over to the paper's office. The reward was $10, he said.
Later that night, Gardiner noticed many others had unsuccessfully tried to find the sphere.
"The whole area had been ransacked," he said.
'I'm not surprised'
Holman said he received the ball from Gardiner, put it in a filing cabinet until the next town meeting, and returned the piece of history.
Holman, who's since moved away and is back in Inuvik this week for its 60th anniversary, said he never knew who stole the ball — until now.
"I speculated," said Holman, chuckling. "But I'm not surprised."
The mayor chortled after finding out, too. "I grew up with them," McDonald said.
Inuvik RCMP said Friday they couldn't find any files on the incident at this time, and did not comment about possible charges.
As Inuvik celebrates its birthday this weekend, Norris and Butters said they thought this was their chance to clear their conscience of their "youthful hijinks."
"We thought well, we should finally talk about it and let everybody know," said Norris.
"Just be glad we weren't engineers. Who knows what we would have done with the ball?"
With files from Jamie Malbeuf
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