A man has been charged with felony theft after allegedly stealing a kayak from Lloyd Beach in Winnetka.

The kayak, worth $3,000 was reported stolen July 30 from an unsecured Winnetka Park District storage facility, 799 Sheridan Road, along Lake Michigan. The vessel was entered into a state database of stolen vehicles.

Thomas J. Millar, 35, of the 100 block of North Bothwell, Palatine, was arrested Aug. 20 by Illinois Conservation Police and turned over to Winnetka authorities, who charged him Aug. 27. He ould not be reached for comment.

“He was in possession and using the kayak when he was arrested,” said Patrick Kreis, Winnetka’s Deputy Police Chief.

Rather than charge Millar with possession of stolen property, Winnetka detectives spent seven days investigating the incident and developed enough information to charge the man with felony theft, Kreis said.

“It was some really good police work,” he said.

Kreis wouldn’t say exactly what that police work was, other than “interviewing witnesses and other techniques,” saying it could damage the state’s case against Millar in court.

“We didn’t sit on our hands,” Kreis said. “We actively pursued the investigation for seven days until we were satisfied that Millar was the sole person responsible for the theft.”

jhuston@tribune.com

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