Authorities in Wichita, Kansas, are asking for the public's help after a Jackie Robinson statue was stolen from a park by a group of thieves late Wednesday night.
Surveillance footage shared by the Wichita Police Department shows the suspects taking the statue from McAdams Park and loading it into the back of a silver pickup truck. The truck then drove off with the statue shortly after midnight early Thursday.
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A photo shared by police shows the statue, which weighs hundreds of pounds, was cut off right above the feet.
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The City of Wichita estimates $75,000 in damages.
"This is OUR time to come together as a community to find out who would do such a horrible thing to OUR community," the Wichita Police Department wrote in a Facebook post Thursday. "If you have any information on this senseless and heartless crime, we ask that you submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers!"
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The statue stood at a park used by League 42, a local nonprofit youth baseball league named in honor of the Hall of Famer who broke MLB's color barrier. The league was founded in 2013 to "fill a void so that Wichita’s urban children could have an opportunity to play baseball without the exorbitant costs of playing in organized or even recreational leagues," according to its website.
League 42 unveiled the statue in 2021.
Bob Lutz, League 42's executive director, told NBC affiliate KSNW in Wichita that the statue's sculptor, artist John Parsons, was a lifelong friend of his who died about a year and a half ago. Lutz said the statue was one of Parsons' "crowning achievements."
“I was so proud to get that up at McAdams Park," Lutz added. "The City of Wichita was a great partner in creating the Jackie Robinson pavilion, and now it’s just been decimated. And I’m a combination of every emotion you can imagine except joy and happiness."
Lutz said the process of getting approval to have the statue constructed wasn't an easy one.
“But we did attain that permission from the Robinson family, including his widow Rachel, and to have this happen is embarrassing for our community," he said. "It’s an embarrassment."
