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Police conclude investigation after realizing alleged drone was just a bird

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A Waterloo Regional Police officer looks on during an event in Waterloo, Ont., Thursday, June 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne

A police investigation has concluded that an unknown substance a suspected drone was allegedly dropping on homes in a small Ontario town was just bird poop.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service says its probe into the "suspicious drone activity" has wrapped up with no criminal charges.

Police said in August they were investigating harassment and mischief involving a drone after receiving multiple complaints of "harassing behaviour" and property damage in Ayr, a community in the Township of North Dumfries.

Investigators said at the time that they believed a first-person view drone flew over a residential area on several nighttime occasions and dropped the unknown substance on houses, vehicles and properties.

Police say the University of Guelph assisted with the resulting investigation.

They determined the substance was a heron's feces and there had been no criminal activity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press


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