Stolen piece of RCMP memorial in Moncton recovered by police
A bronze maple leaf was stolen from memorial to 3 slain Mounties in August
Members of the Codiac RCMP display the stolen maple leaf that was recovered this week (Sep 29, 2026)
New Brunswick RCMP say officers have recovered a piece of a prominent Moncton memorial to three officers shot and killed by a gunman in the city’s north end in 2014.
Codiac RCMP received information around 9 p.m. on Sunday that someone was believed to be in possession of the leaf, said a news release issued Tuesday.
The leaf had been stolen in early August from the memorial in the Honour Garden in Moncton.
The memorial includes three statues of the RCMP officers and a dozen bronze maple leaves displayed around the base
The three statues are of Const. Douglas Larche, Const. Dave Ross and Const. Fabrice Gevaudan, who were all killed in the shooting.
Nadine Larche, the wife of Const. Larche, was the person who initially discovered the leaf was missing and reported it to police.
On Tuesday, she said she received a text from an RCMP member asking if they could drop in to show her something. Fifteen minutes later, she opened the door to see six officers holding up the leaf.
“Oh my God, that made it extra special,” Larche said. “They could have just given me a call to say, ‘Hey, Nadine, we found it.
“Although I don’t typically like surprises, this was a great surprise. Everybody was all smiles, hugs all around. I don’t know who was happier, me or them, really.”
On Monday, officers arrested a 46-year-old man at a business on Edinburgh Drive in Moncton, the release said, without naming the man or the business.
“Investigators had obtained evidence indicating that the man was in possession of the stolen bronze maple leaf,” the release said.
One of 12 bronze maple leaves on a memorial in Moncton for three RCMP officers killed in the 2014 shootings was stolen in August. Codiac RCMP say they found the missing bronze maple leaf from the Honour Garden Memorial, which commemorates the shooting of three mounties in 2014. A 46-year-old man has been arrested.
RCMP executed a search warrant for a residence on Church Street in Moncton and recovered the missing leaf, the release said.
“We are relieved that this important memorial item has been recovered,” said RCMP Cpl. Luc Picard in the press release.
Picard said in an interview that he could not say if charges had been filed or provide any information beyond what was in the news release.
He said that the RCMP thanks the person who provided information about who had the leaf, and that members of the force were happy to have the stolen property returned.
“We got this piece of information from somebody from the community, and we were able to retrieve the stolen leaf,” he said.Larche said such a detail makes her happy.
“You know, when we see something, we should say something,” she said. “So a member of the public speaking up about this, that’s excellent. We need more of that.”
Picard said there is some damage to the leaf, and it’s currently being assessed with hopes that it can be returned to the monument.
“That’s a really important piece of our story here in Moncton, so obviously if we can reuse the same maple leaf to reinstall at the Honour Garden, that would be awesome,” Picard said.