"Cattle Thief" Rustles Calf Statue From Yard On North Side
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A landmark in the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago's North Side is taken overnight.
And now a plea from two owners to bring it back, no questions asked.
A statue of a calf that stood by its mother's side in the Edgewater neighborhood has disappeared.
For about eight years, life-sized fiberglass sculptures of a cow and calf have greeted neighbors in Steve Satek and Dean Hervochon's front yard, near the corner of Paulina and Rosehill.
Over the weekend, someone used bolt cutters to steal the calf. Satek shared the news on Facebook:
"It is a sad, sad day in Andersonville. We have a CATTLE THIEF among us. Neighbors beware! I'm sorry to report that after 8 years of putting a smile on the faces of everyone in the neighborhood, last night someone came by with bolt cutters and stole our baby calf. We understand that is a risk we undertook in placing them in the public, but none-the-less it hurts and it is a sad day. We have heard such great comments from everyone about what joy they have brought to the neighborhood."
Satek bought the statues at an auction. The cows are not associated with the famous Cows on Parade art exhibit in 1999, according to Satek, they were just something fun to put in the yard.
"People say 'Why did you get them?' and I say look at them, they're cows. They bring a smile to people's faces. They're kind of enjoyable to see," he said.
Satek said the calf was stolen sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
"You would think my feelings would be initially about a loss of a material thing, but it was more about what the kids in the neighborhood are going to think of this; because a day doesn't go by that there's not a kid or a family coming by, and taking pictures, or just greeting the cows," he said.
Since the theft, neighbors have been sharing pictures, a lot of them of their kids posing with the cows.
The belief is that this robbery is a prank and there is hope that the cow will be returned.
While the police said no one is in custody for the theft, there is no intent of prosecuting the person or people responsible. The owners just want it back, no questions asked.
