COPS NOT HORSIN' AROUND
Forensic experts to help solve unicorn theft attempt
DELIA, Alta. — It's not often police can report that a unicorn was found, but it was the truth Saturday when RCMP said a stolen, stainless-steel statue of the mythical beast was found in a field not far from where it was taken.
According to Jane McMullin, co-owner of Hand Hills Crafts in Delia, Alta., “Morgan the Mystical Unicorn” stood, embedded in the ground with spikes, outside the business for two years and had become a bit of a tourist attraction.
But McMullin said a neighbour phoned her Friday and told her that her unicorn “had run away.”
RCMP issued a media release Saturday, saying the statue was found damaged with its bronze-coloured horn broken off about 15 kilometres from the village.
The release said police were still looking for suspects and had called in forensics experts to help.
McMullin said “friendly people” transported Morgan back to Delia, but she said he has scratches and dents that will need to be repaired along with the horn.
“It was heartbreaking to see the damage,” she said. “He's going to be down and out for a while.”
Investigators said that between 1 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Friday, they believe a vehicle was driven to Delia, where suspects loaded the statue in the box of a large utility truck. The statue, which is more than three metres high and weighs more than 270 kilograms, is worth $10,000, police said.
McMullin said the unicorn statue was given to her and her partner as a gift and once stood in Iricana, Alta. Originally, she said, it came from Texas.
“He was a great landmark. People would say, `When you get to Delia, turn right at the unicorn,”' McMullin said.