2008 Woodie Awards
Police return stolen statue to campus children's center
Kyle Goon
Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: News
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For the pining youngsters at the Center for Young Children, the long wait finally came to an end.
After a week, University Police were able to crack the case on children's minds since the bird was stolen two weekends ago.
In a special ceremony for the children - which included a convoy and a personal question-and-answer session with the investigators - police returned the bird statue to its rightful home in front of the center yesterday. The statue's return pleased the children, their parents and center employees, who said they were "very excited" to see the bird again.
Police cannot release detailed information about the suspects until they are formally charged later this week, but two people "of college age" have acknowledged involvement in the crime, said Paul Dillon, spokesman for University Police.
Over the weekend, the Security Operations Center used security footage to identify a suspicious pickup truck near the center. Using the vehicle's license plate number as identification, University Police officers arrived at the suspects' residence in College Park and found the statue, said Pvt. Lucas Pavlik, one of the officers who initially responded to the theft.
They didn't have to look very hard for the five-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture.
"It was beside a beer pong table, just like a trophy," Pavlik said. "It was visible as soon as we walked through the front door."
At 11 a.m. yesterday, the students at the center sat cross-legged on the sidewalk outside of their building, squinting in the sun. They seemed only dimly aware that their beloved bird statue, stolen by still faceless perpetrators, would be coming back to them very soon.
But word spread quickly that there was going to be a special surprise. Children holding handmade posters suddenly became anxious. A girl named Olivia, who originally came up with the idea of creating a survey to gather information from university students about the bird's whereabouts, waved a sign which read, "Whow-oh, the bird is back. I love that bird! Love! Love! Love! Love!"
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 31
Amit
posted 3/12/08 @ 6:42 AM EST
I hope the people who stole the statue read this article. Shame on them. "As soon as the children could, they swarmed around the statue, reaching to touch and embrace it. (Continued…)
Sylvester
posted 3/12/08 @ 9:33 AM EST
Dude, they're 5 year olds, honestly they'll forget about this in about a week. But if these college kids get their lives ruined with a felony charge it won't be forgotten for a long time, if ever. (Continued…)
Bryan
posted 3/12/08 @ 10:39 AM EST
I agree with Sylvester.
The theft of the statue was the unfortunate result of what I think we can all agree was an overabundance of childhood mirth to begin with. (Continued…)
Phil
posted 3/12/08 @ 1:12 PM EST
Just because you're a college kid doesn't mean you're allowed to get away with crimes. Maybe the diamondback played too much on emotion making the people who stole the bird seem "evil". (Continued…)
God
posted 3/12/08 @ 1:14 PM EST
Yes, condemn the forever. No mercy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes they were wrong, yes they got caught, yes they will have to answer for it, but why not give them a chance to answer for it instead of grandstanding. (Continued…)
Dawn - A Former CYC Parent
posted 3/12/08 @ 2:06 PM EST
As a former CYC parent, I can wholeheartedly DISAGREE to any of the statements that said the children will get over this soon. My daughter was a student at the CYC for two years. (Continued…)
dave - not an irrational parent
posted 3/12/08 @ 3:23 PM EST
Well your kid is now what, 7? we're talking about when the kids are adults, they will never remember the one week that their bird was missing, and if they did their parents can tell them it was getting cleaned or something. (Continued…)
Rubbertits
posted 3/12/08 @ 3:25 PM EST
Dawn - is this what the world has come to? Are the children of today that pussified? You said that removing this bird broke many children's hearts. Seriously? Tell your little brat that the bird is in the oven and that you are eating it for dinner. (Continued…)
M.
posted 3/12/08 @ 5:55 PM EST
They deserve to be punished for the crime they committed, no matter how stupid people may think a bird statue is, if someone stole your car you would want them punished to the full extent for the crime they committed. (Continued…)
Terrence
posted 3/13/08 @ 12:02 AM EST
yeah, i think the operative phrase here is "chill the hell out". and hey, calling students immature for stealing food from the dining halls is ridiculous by the way. (Continued…)
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