Investigation Continues Into Woodward Park Statue Theft

Dan Bewley, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The investigation continues into two stolen statues at Tulsa's Woodward Park.  The theft happened sometime last week.  One statue was inside a pond, another just on the outside of the pond.

4/19/2011 Related Story: Thieves Swipe Two Statues From Tulsa's Woodward Park

The case has visitors wondering why someone would want to steal a statue.

Woodward Park is a place for kids to enjoy nature and take in some of the most breathtaking views in all of Tulsa.  But for a week now, something has been missing from the Rock Garden.

"We are absolutely devastated that this has happened," Barbie Raney, Friends of Woodward Park, said.

Two statues have been stolen: a Cherub holding a dolphin stood where there's an empty pit  now and the Greek god Pan with his flute used to sit with what's now a broken water spout.

"Many, many years ago people gave money so that we could have these beautiful statues put in our gardens," Helen Beth O'Neal, a Tulsa resident, said.

O'Neal has been coming to Woodward Park all of her life. On Wednesday she was here with a group of school kids giving an impromptu history lesson with a disappointing twist.

"It's one of their favorite places to come because it's imaginative and whimsical and I was just like, 'You have got to be kidding,'" she said.

The statues were first noticed missing last Thursday morning, April 14, 2011. There were no tire tracks or anything to indicate how they were removed.

"These things are really hooked into the ground really tight so it would have taken some really, really strong people or some machinery to take these away," Raney said.

It's not exactly clear how long the statues had been at the park, although it has been at least fifty years and they have been the victims of vandals before just never anything quite like this.

All that's left now is to let the investigation take it's course and hope that whoever took the statues has a change of heart.

"Maybe they have a partner in crime. Somebody who will feel guilty, somebody who will make them say 'Okay, this is not a good idea. We need to get this back.' and just leave it on a doorstep,'" O'Neal said.

Friends of Woodward Park use donations to keep the park beautiful. They say if you'd like to make a donation to replace the statues be sure to earmark or note that on your check.