Wellington Police are appealing to the public and art traders for any sightings or knowledge of a large bronze sculpture which was removed from a public walkway linking Victoria Street and Chews Lane.
Police have been attempting to locate the distinctive sculpture valued at $65,000 since it was taken in the weeks leading up to 18 March. Inquiries with art dealers and auction houses have so far not resulted in any confirmed sightings of the sculpture.
Detective Constable Bryan Miller says "It is all a bit of a mystery as the sculpture is almost two meters tall and weighs around 120 kilograms so it would have taken some planning to remove without anyone noticing".
"It is too heavy for most people to lift so whoever has taken it would have had to use a trolley or something else to move it".
"Given how distinctive it is we believe someone will either recognise the sculpture or remember people talking about it."
"We aren't ruling out the possibility that it has been taken simply for the value of the metal it was made of. We would also be interested in hearing from scrap metal dealers who know of people wanting to trade significant quantities of copper in particular."
The dimensions of the sculpture are H 194.5cm x W 63.0cm x D 42.0cm.
Anyone with any information should contact Wellington Police on (04) 381 2000. Information can also be provided anonymously to the Crimestoppers organisation on 0800 555 111.
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Please note that a picture of the statue is available from the Police website.
For media queries please contact Nick Bohm, Wellington District Communications Manager, on (04) 496 3464 or 021 192 1816.
