If cars with Canadian licence plates are being targeted across the river in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., those incidents are apparently not being reported to police.
The rumour mill on both sides of the St. Marys River is filled with accounts of Canadian cars being 'keyed' in the Wal-Mart and TJ Maxx parking lots across the river, with a separate story of four lights being smashed on a Canadian vehicle in the Bay Mills Casino parking lot.
"My barber told me a friend had all four lights, front and back, smashed at Bay Mills Casino," said a Canadian in a tip sent to SooToday.
"I heard from a reliable source that a car with Ontario plates in the TJ Maxx lot in Sault, Michigan a while back had the words 'Go Home' keyed on it. The car was almost brand-new, and belonged to a young lady," said Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. resident Bernie Arbic in a post to his Facebook account.
The stories being spread on social media have a common characteristic, they are not first-hand accounts, but instead being told by someone not directly involved in the incident.
Spokespeople for the stores declined to comment for this story.
"As this would be a police matter, we would respectfully defer any comment to local law enforcement," said Kate Noonan, manager of global communications for TJ Maxx.
A communications person for Wal-Mart corporate offices also responded with a no comment for the story.
Detective Kristin Autore of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Department in Michigan said last week there was no record of complaints being filed in the Wal-Mart and TJ Maxx parking lots.
"I did a search going back six months. It doesn’t appear that we have any Malicious Destruction of Property complaints in those areas," said Autore.
Asked if any Canadians have made police reports after returning to the country from the U.S., a local spokesperson for the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. police said there have not been any complaints of vandalism.
"We have not received any complaints of this type of vandalism," said Lincoln Louttit, manager of corporate communications for the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service.
Bay Mills Casino did not respond to a call for comment for this story.
— with files from Jim Lehocky/SooLeader