Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair acknowledged Wednesday that a bunker found near a prominent tennis facility is "a bit of a mystery" and that investigators are still trying to determine who built it and why "so we can assure the public that the mystery is solved."
"It was not an insignificant effort," Blair told CP24 on Wednesday morning. "This was not a couple of kids digging a hole and building a fort. This is something more significant. But there is no evidence at this time that indicates a criminal intent."
Investigators have conducted "a very thorough investigation" of the available forensic evidence at the tunnel, Blair said. But so far, that has yielded little information as to the identity and motive of the builders.
Blair's comments come a day after police revealed details of the bunker, built a few hundred metres from the Rexall Centre near York University. It was discovered on Jan. 14.
The centre hosts the annual Rogers Cup tennis tournament, and will also be home to the tennis events at this summer’s Pan Am Games.
Investigators don’t believe the bunker poses a threat to public safety. Blair said a DNA sweep of the tunnel did not provide any clues as to who built it.
The bunker measures 1.9 metres tall by 0.9 metres wide, and is 10 metres long, police said. A three-metre-deep tunnel with a ladder leads into the bunker.
It was found in a wooded area just south of the tennis court next to a large pile of dirt. The entrance to the bunker was concealed by a wooden plank covered in dirt.
The walls were reinforced with wooden planks and moisture-resistant lights had been installed inside.
According to a civil engineering professor, although the bunker's structure looks sophisticated, someone could have been seriously injured standing inside it.
"This whole thing could have just simply caved in sideways," University of Toronto professor John Harrison told CTV Toronto. "(The builders) were probably naïve and they were lucky. But if it did collapse, they would not have been able to survive."
He adds it would have taken one person two months to complete the bunker, working eight- to 10-hour days working.
Police found several items inside the bunker, including a gas-powered generator, tools, a gas can, food and drink containers, work gloves, a sump pump and a wheel barrow.
A poppy, affixed to a rosary, was nailed to a wall.
Police also found a pulley system, which they believe was used to carry dirt from the tunnel up to the surface during construction.
Deputy Police Chief Mark Saunders, who is the executive officer for Pan Am Games security, said no direct threats have been made against the games. A “robust security” plan is in place for the event, he told reporters on Tuesday.
Police are asking for the public’s help to aid their investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 416-808-3100 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
With a report from CTV Toronto's Janice Golding
