RCMP investigating 'mischief' to memorial honouring Indigenous children lost to residential schools

The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday April 13, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

EDMONTON -

RCMP in Fort McMurray are investigating after a memorial made to honour children who never came home after attending residential schools was “unlawfully disassembled.”

Mounties said that sometime Saturday afternoon or evening a person or group of people removed shoes, part of the memorial in front of the Jubilee Centre at 9909 Franklin Ave., and placed them in a pile around a nearby flower bed with a sign stating: “Garage Sale, all items free.”

The makeshift memorial was created in response to the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools across Canada and in support of the Every Child Matters movement, RCMP said. It was to remain until Sept. 30, Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Wood Buffalo RCMP say they are investigating the incident as “mischief.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Wood Buffalo RCMP at 780-788-4040 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.