APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) – A person accused of vandalizing an ice sculpture displayed by a suicide awareness nonprofit in downtown Appleton over the weekend turned himself in to police Monday.
Appleton police said the person of interest self-reported to the department on Monday. Police did not release his name.
The vandalism occurred during the early morning of Sunday, Feb. 22, on the 200-block of W. College Ave. during the Avenue of Ice Carvings event.
Sculpture destroyed, then partially recovered
The Center for Suicide Awareness’s sculpture — a pair of hands forming a heart, created by Paul Salmon and his team at Krystal Kleer Ice Sculptures, LLC — was smashed onto the ground. A bystander recovered the sculpture and placed the broken pieces back on the display table.
Barb Bigalke, executive director and founder of the Center for Suicide Awareness, said the organization was participating in the Avenue of Ice Carvings event for the first time this year, inspired by the “Things We Love About Wisconsin” theme.
There was also a desire to spread kindness during a time when the world is filled with negativity.
“So having the symbol of just those two hands being a heart is that sign of, hey, people do care. You know, we have good communities, and love can actually save somebody’s life,” Bigalke said.
Bigalke said the organization’s reaction to learning of the vandalism was immediate.
“I think our hearts sank because we knew what the message was. It was about heart and soul. It was about, hey, we just want that visual that people do love each other and love your community,” Bigalke said.
Bigalke said the vandalism occurred just before 2 a.m. Sunday, when one person flipped the display. Appleton police released photos of the suspect before he turned himself in.
“And so it was that constant visual of like, hey, somebody cares. Somebody loves us. You matter. So for it to be gone, it’s sort of like that visual was taken away,” she said. “And in our first year, and in less than 24 hours, I think that maybe was the most heartbreaking of it.”
Artists attempt repairs, and may redo the sculpture
Paul Salmon, owner of Krystal Kleer Ice Sculptures, said he learned about the damage Monday morning through Facebook. He said the sculpture took at least two hours to carve.
“It was a pair of hands kind of forming a heart like that, and you know, sadly, somebody felt the need to vandalize it,” Salmon said.
After seeing the damage, Salmon and his team returned to the downtown display to assess what could be saved.
“Just to see if there was any way we could try to put it back together. It might even make more sense to take it back to the shop to do it,” Salmon said.
Salmon said he initially expected the repair to be more straightforward.
“I thought it would be easier to put back together,” he said. “Normally, if all the pieces are still available and you can put it back together like a puzzle and squirt — you know, squirting one piece together at a time — then eventually if you do it in the right order you can kind of glue it back together like a puzzle, but the cracks will show.”
The artists ultimately took the sculpture back to their shop and may redo it altogether.
Appleton police announced Monday morning a man suspected in connection with damage caused downtown over the weekend has been identified.
Downtown Appleton pledges donation
The organization Downtown Appleton acknowledged the vandalism in a Facebook post that otherwise celebrated the Avenue of Ice event. Downtown Appleton said it will make a donation to the Center for Suicide Awareness.
It was the only display damaged, and it remains unclear whether this was done with intention or by accident.
Nonprofit focused on compassion, not punishment
“I don’t think anger solves anything. I think it was more sad, you know, because we really did put a lot of thought into it,” Bigalke said.
Bigalke said the organization’s response is centered on the well-being of the person responsible, not punishment.
“I think the biggest thing is we want to make sure that whoever did that is okay. I mean, did they — were they struggling? Were they hurting? Did it trigger them? And if it did, we want them to get help too,” Bigalke said. “This isn’t about finding, prosecuting or anything like that. This is like, is that person okay? Because from looking at the footage, they were taking pictures with other sculptures, but then they came across ours, and that’s when they tossed it,” she said.
Copyright 2026 WBAY. All rights reserved.