STONEY CREEK, Ont. (CP) -
Hamilton police want to release 40 gnomes they've taken into protective custody, but they don't know where to send them.

The garden critters are locked up in the police station.

They were discovered on the loose Monday morning around the fountain at the former city hall in this southern Ontario community.

Where they came from is anybody's guess.

"We believe they were stolen from homes around Stoney Creek over the weekend and we'd like to send them home," Sgt. Maggie McKittrick said Wednesday.