Thieves bike across frozen Lake Erie in Port Colborne in attempt to steal cable, wire: charges laid

Supplies used by two men to allegedly steal wire and cable from a breakwall along Lake Erie are seen on the left. Stripped wiring and cable are seen on top of the ice on Lake Erie on the right. (NRPS)

Two men are facing theft charges after they allegedly stole cable and wire from a breakwall along Lake Erie.

Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) say the two suspects biked across the ice at a marina near H.H. Knoll Lakeview Park in Port Colborne just after noon on Wednesday.

The pair made it out to the Lake Erie breakwall and began stripping wire and cable from it, police say.

Officers from NRPS’s Marine Unit attended, put on ice survival suits, and walked across the ice to arrest one of the men.

The second suspect attempted to evade officers, police say, and walked across the ice and briefly waded into open water before he was arrested.

Both men were assessed for hypothermia after being brought back to the shore.

NRPS have not determined a damage estimate for the breakwall.

Police say 45-year-old Timothy Charles Pye and 52-year-old Stephen Grant Kelly have been charged with theft and failing to comply with probation. The charges have not been tested in court.