Escuminac beachcomber hopes to solve mystery of autographed hockey stick
'We have no idea who owned it or where it came from. We're just really intrigued by it'
Monica McIntyre loves walking on the beaches in Escuminac, N.B., searching for treasures, especially after storms.
She's found driftwood in all shapes and sizes, rocks and shells, fishing buoys and traps, and even her most treasured find — the skeleton of a beluga whale.
But there's one thing McIntrye found that's a mystery she wants to solve.
Three years ago, a broken hockey stick washed ashore in the roll of the water after a storm. The blade, wrapped in white tape, had writing on it.
"It says 'I heart New Brunswick' and then it has the signature, No. 61, and then it says either 2002 or 2012 Olympic gold."
With no winter Olympics in 2012, McIntyre thinks a zero looks like a one because of the way the tape is wrapped.
Canada won gold in men's and women's hockey at the 2002 Olympics hosted in Salt Lake City.
"We have no idea who owned it or where it came from. We're just really intrigued by it."
No luck with search
Even though she's not a hockey fan, McIntyre tried to find out whose signature it was by searching on the Internet, but she had no luck.
"One link brought me to another to another to another. Then it sat in the office."
Visitors to a campground operated by the family would admire the stick and offer to help find out who signed it. But that hasn't yielded any results.
Asked what she would do with the stick if she found out who owned it, McIntrye said she had no idea.
"I'm pretty sure I'm going to contact that person and let them know maybe where it's at. However, I don't know if I want to part with it. It's a good conversation piece whenever somebody comes up to look at the treasures."
McIntyre said she's hopeful she can find out who did sign the hockey stick, and maybe even the person who owned it.