BELLEVILLE - It turns out the Stirling "Gator Caper" may be a hoax.
Police in Stirling-Rawdon, northwest of Belleville, Ont., had released a photo last week of what appeared to be a small alligator in the community's Mill Pond.
They warned people to be careful, and a crew from the Indian River Reptile Zoo near Peterborough, Ont., took to the water in canoes looking for evidence of the gator.
Stirling-Rawdon police now say analysis of the photograph by the provincial police forensic ID unit has determined it's a picture of a photograph of an alligator.
Ron Main supplied the picture of the metre-foot long reptile to media, and it was then disseminated by police.
No charges will be laid against Main as he didn't directly send the photograph to police.
