A note from the editor: reporter Kyle Goon’s original story on Friday about the theft of the bird statue outside the Center for Young Children is available here: The kids aren’t alright after bird statue theft
For the pining youngsters at the Center for Young Children, the long wait finally came to an end.
After a week, University Police were able to crack the case on children’s minds since the bird was stolen two weekends ago.
In a special ceremony for the children – which included a convoy and a personal question-and-answer session with the investigators – police returned the bird statue to its rightful home in front of the center yesterday. The statue’s return pleased the children, their parents and center employees, who said they were “very excited” to see the bird again.
Police cannot release detailed information about the suspects until they are formally charged later this week, but two people “of college age” have acknowledged involvement in the crime, said Paul Dillon, spokesman for University Police.
Over the weekend, the Security Operations Center used security footage to identify a suspicious pickup truck near the center. Using the vehicle’s license plate number as identification, University Police officers arrived at the suspects’ residence in College Park and found the statue, said Pvt. Lucas Pavlik, one of the officers who initially responded to the theft.
They didn’t have to look very hard for the five-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture.
“It was beside a beer pong table, just like a trophy,” Pavlik said. “It was visible as soon as we walked through the front door.”
At 11 a.m. yesterday, the students at the center sat cross-legged on the sidewalk outside of their building, squinting in the sun. They seemed only dimly aware that their beloved bird statue, stolen by still faceless perpetrators, would be coming back to them very soon.
But word spread quickly that there was going to be a special surprise. Children holding handmade posters suddenly became anxious. A girl named Olivia, who originally came up with the idea of creating a survey to gather information from university students about the bird’s whereabouts, waved a sign which read, “Whow-oh, the bird is back. I love that bird! Love! Love! Love! Love!”
Finally, the moment came. Detective Richard Mugerwa instructed the antsy youngsters to look toward the horizon, even lifting one boy onto his shoulder as a special lookout.
University Police gave the children a show to remember as a police convoy drove down the street in front of the center, led by a police auxiliary truck with the bright yellow bird statue perched triumphantly atop its bed.
The motley crew of preschoolers jumped up and down, shouting and screaming with joy. The group soon erupted into a chant of “Go police!” as the officers brought the bird back to its proper place on a stand by the center’s entrance.
As soon as the children could, they swarmed around the statue, reaching to touch and embrace it.
“I wanted to hug it so hard that I would almost break it,” said Jonathan, one of the kindergartners.
Others weren’t so zealous in lavishing the bird with their adoration, but were simply happy to see it returned.
“I just felt it to make sure it was OK,” said Zachary, one of the more talkative children. “I was very excited that it was back.”
Adults who work a the center were also happy to see the bird, they said. Francine Favretto, director of the center, thought that the relatively swift resolution to the incident showed the children that they can make a difference and trust the outside world.
“If they have strong feelings, they can express them and people will listen,” Favretto said, referring to the numerous posters and surveys the children made to ask for the bird back. “It makes them feel that their ideas are respected, and that’s definitely a good thing.”
After the officers returned the bird, they stuck around for a question-and-answer session with the children. They found themselves trying to answer an array of questions from the peanut gallery of curious youngsters, on every topic from the identities of the thieves to the definition of evidence.
A somber-faced boy named Eddie walked up to Mugerwa and requested innocently to ask “the bad guys” why they took the bird.
“Well, when I talk to the bad guys, we’ll make sure they come and say something to you,” Mugerwa said. “I can’t promise, but I’ll try.”
When it was time to say good-bye, a chorus of five-year-olds erupted in “Thank you”s. Master Patrol Officer Jonas Ellis told the class how nice it felt to talk to them and left the center noticeably misty-eyed.
The statue was partially damaged after being ripped off its stand: The bottom is still missing pieces and a thin fracture runs up the tail feathers of the bird. Facilities Management has taken the sculpture away from the center for the time being to repair and eventually remount it.
The center will try and get the sculpture’s original artist, Caroline Afande of Temple Hills, to refurbish the bird, which looks a “little tired,” Favretto said.
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