Fleeing Huntsville driver stole canoe, paddled into Bracebridge

BRACEBRIDGE — A driver who fled an accident has been apprehended.

The driver of a pickup truck who crashed on Hwy. 11 SB near Cedar Lane, before fleeing on foot and eventually by canoe, has been caught.

Huntsville’s James Rye faced several charges after ultimately stealing a canoe and paddling into Bracebridge.

The bizarre incident began just past 8 a.m. Thursday when police got a call about about a pickup truck in the ditch with three snowmobiles in tow in the southbound lanes of Highway 11, south of Cedar Lane.

The male driver fled the accident on foot.

Detachment officers from Bracebridge, along with the OPP Canine Unit and Central Region Emergency Response Team (ERT) failed to locate immediately.

They say that after bounding from the vehicle, and through snow, he stole a canoe and paddled into town where he was located by police and taken into custody.

Rye has been charged with Possession of Stolen Property, Breach of Probation, Theft and Break and Enter.

He was scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge today.

Police are now requesting the public’s assistance for information regarding this incident. If you have witnessed the collision and subsequent search in the Wilsons Falls/Cedar Lane area of Bracebridge, you are asked to contact the Provincial Constable Bateman-McKinnon at the Bracebridge OPP Detachment at 705-645-2211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.crimestopperssdm.com.