A beloved sculpture of a Tyrannosaurus rex has gone missing from a lawn in Worcester, and its owners, and their neighbors, want it back.
The olive green dinosaur measures about 5 feet long, and its large, toothy grin has been a fixture on Minister Brook Road for two decades.
Deborah Van Ness, whose partner, Carl Witke, salvaged the charismatic king of reptiles from a free pile in Montpelier, said the sculpture was gone when they returned from vacation on Saturday. She said they aren’t the only ones grieving the loss.
“Since it went missing, there’s just been so many neighbors who said, ‘Oh, that was our … marker for our walk in the morning,’ or, ‘Our kids would always … make stories about it or talk about it as we drove by,’ and things like that,” she said. “So many people loved that dinosaur.”
Van Ness is hoping that someone mistakenly thought the T. rex was put outside for free and hears the pleas for its return on social media. But she’s also filed a report with Vermont State Police, who confirmed Wednesday that they're “actively investigating” the case.
Since Van Ness posted news of the sculpture’s disappearance on Front Porch Forum and Facebook, locals have weighed in to share memories of the dinosaur.
“This makes me so sad!” one neighbor posted on Facebook. “It’s been our good luck charm!”
“The whole town knows that dinosaur,” another Worcester resident posted.
A nearby homeowner reviewed five days’ worth of footage from their security camera but didn’t find any useful leads.
“Hopefully someone is taking it on a global adventure, and you’ll start getting photos of dino at the pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Machu Pichu, etc. Then he'll be returned tired and happy to have traveled the globe."Minister Brook Road resident, on Facebook
Van Ness said she and Witke think the sculpture was probably once part of a spring-loaded play feature on a playground, but they aren’t entirely sure of its provenance or monetary value.
Its sentimental value is something she can attest to.
“It was just shocking and sad and, you know, feels sort of violating that someone would take our special, special dinosaur,” Van Ness said.
A VSP spokesperson said anyone with information about the dinosaur’s whereabouts is asked to call Vermont State Police’s Berlin barracks at (802) 229-9191.
In the meantime, residents will be keeping their eyes peeled for the plastic legend.
“Hopefully someone is taking it on a global adventure, and you’ll start getting photos of dino at the pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Machu Pichu etc.,” one Minister Brook Road resident wrote on Facebook. “Then he’ll be returned tired and happy to have traveled the globe.”
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