Villagers in a Saskatchewan community have been left scratching their heads after attempts to dig up a 50-year-old time capsule proved fruitless.
More than 300 people were attracted to the village of Alvena in June in anticipation of the pod’s opening.
When Mayor Ernie Sawitsky and others dug around the cairn where the capsule was said to be buried, it was nowhere to be found.
“We decided to bring in the big guns, so we brought in my back hoe and decided to start dismantling this thing, so we could try and find this supposed time capsule,” said Sawitsky.
The group found a bottle with a letter inside and hoped the capsule would be next.
“Unfortunately that never happened,” he added. “We basically disintegrated the cairn and found nothing.”
Pam Hilkewich, administrator for Alvena, said people were disappointed, but understanding.
“We just don’t know where it went. It’s a mystery I guess,” she added.
Sawitsky thinks there was foul play involved.
“Personally I believe a crime was committed 50 years ago,” he said. “I believed a theft occurred.”
Despite the disappointment, residents in Alvena plan to bury another time capsule.
“A brand new cairn will be built. Items collected, including what we found here in this cairn, will be placed within and every 25 years it’s our plan to access that vault and add to it and have a community event,” Sawitsky said.
The mayor is asking anyone who knows anything about the missing capsule to come forward.
With a report from CTV Saskatoon’s Ashley Field
