NEW YORK CITY – A more than century-old statue of a life-sized mountain lion crouching in a realistic hunting pose was reported stolen by parks officials early Monday morning.
A parks worker alerted the police to the absence of the 1883 bronze, which was situated atop a stone formation south of the 86th Street transverse, at 6 a.m., according to the New York Police Department.
“The statue seems to have been removed with the use of some sort of torch to melt the brackets which secured it to the rock formation…” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Lieutenant John Grimpel said in an interview today at the scene of the crime. “One thing we know for sure is that this wasn’t one person acting alone. It would have taken a crew of at least 3-4 people to pull something like this off.” When asked if any arrests had been made Lt. Grimpel responded, “We have a person of interest we are trying to make contact with and we are currently seeking any surveillance video that may exist.”
The theft of “Still Hunt” comes two months to the day after another Central Park statue was vandalized and is the third vandalism of Central Park statues of the year. On September 12, a statue of Christopher Columbus was found defaced with it’s had stained with red paint and graffiti scrawled along the pedestal including the ominous warning ‘#somethingscoming’.
Despite the cautionary hashtag, officials don’t believe the theft is related to the previous vandalism. In an e-mail from the mayor’s chief spokesman, Eric Phillips, he states, “The previous defacement of our beautiful statues were politically motivated. There doesn’t seem to be any motivation in the case of this historic heist other than somebody must really wanted that statue. Therefore we don’t believe the cases are connected, though we don’t want to rule anything out just yet.” He went on to assert, “They mayor is very upset about this and we are doing everything in our power to locate the statue and return it to it’s rightful home.”
The Central Park statue is a favorite among tourists and joggers alike walking along the historic East Drive every day. The statue was sculpted by Edward Kemey, an artist who had move to New York City in 1868. Kemeys’ work had caught the eye of “a number of modest gentlemen” including John D. Rockefeller. In 1881, these men wanted to present a sculptural gift to Central Park. Two years later, on June 12, 1883, “Still Hunt” was unveiled.
Emilio Savone, 59, a plus sized model and interpretive dancer who lives in Hells Kitchen with his fiancee Edmund Scott Lindner, 58, looked on with his lover as a forensics team scoured the region for evidence.
“This is terrible.” Mr. Savone said holding back tears. “I loved that sculpture. And now I may never get a chance to see the mountain lion sculpture again. Not only did they steal from the city, they stole an experience from me and anybody else interested in seeing it. I just hope they catch them.”
If you have any information regarding this case, please call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. All information provided can be done so anonymously.