Almost an apey ending! We got Gary the Gorilla back... but just his back
IT WAS a true crime that gripped a nation – who stole Gary the Gorilla in the night? And where was he now?
Wild theories and a series of sightings emerged in the year since he vanished from Andrew Scott’s garden centre.
One driver said he saw the 8ft fibreglass figure being driven down the M1 near Warwick, 300 miles from his home in Carluke. Another reported him in a trailer on the M25.
Others falsely reported him standing outside rival nurseries. A police investigation led nowhere either. But now the truth – or at least half of it – can be revealed.
Andrew and Gary have been reunited after he was found in a layby on the A92 in Fife, 60 miles away.
‘We were full of excitement,’ Andrew told followers. ‘But it wasn’t quite the wholesome reunion we were expecting.’
Only the rear half of Gary was rescued. His face, chest and front of his arms and legs are still missing.
He had been found in a skip by staff at Bear Scotland, which maintains the country’s main road network. ‘We are now asking anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Gary’s better half, please contact us,’ Andrew, 57, wrote on the Reynard’s Nursery Facebook page.
He thanked staff who recognised the £3,000 gorilla, criticised ‘the criminals’ disregard to the laws of fly tipping’ and added: ‘We feel we are closer than ever to bringing all of Gary home.’
When he is back in one piece, staff are keen for him to go back to his favourite spot, in Lanarkshire, where for ten years they dressed him to reflect changing seasons, including a Santa hat and even PPE during lockdown. He was a useful landmark for people searching for the nursery.
CCTV of his abduction last March showed several people loading him into a white van during the night.
‘The images are very grainy but a white van pulls up and several people get out,’ Andrew said at the time. ‘Gary was bolted down to decking so it looks like they unbolted him and carefully placed him in the van. I would say it was planned.’