A bronze statue of a blue heron was damaged after someone reportedly attempted to steal the statue from Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland.
Just before noon Friday, an officer and crime scene analyst with the Loveland Police Department were on scene at the Amazing Grace sculpture collecting evidence. Based on the damage and the evidence that was being collected on scene, it appeared that someone tied a rope around the sculpture and attempted to pull it off its base using a vehicle.
Loveland Police crime scene analyst Sydney Salazar (crouching) collects a rope that was left on scene to submit into evidence. On her left is Officer Ryan, and to their right are tire tracks marked by yellow evidence markers. (Sharla Steinman/ Loveland Reporter-Herald.
The incident occurred between midnight and 4 a.m. Friday, according to an emailed statement from Public Information Officer Chris Padgett. Officer Keegan Ryan, who was on scene, said someone walking in the park that morning reported that it looked like someone tried to steal a statue.
Padgett didn’t share any information about possible suspects, but added in the emailed statement that the department has investigative leads they are working on.
The bronze sculpture of a blue heron opening its wings was created by Shari Vines. The statue is about 4 feet tall and was installed in 2023.
Based on the scene, it appeared that someone wrapped a rope around the sculpture and attempted to pull it off the base using a vehicle. The crime scene analyst appeared to be wrapping up several feet of rope and placed it in a bag as evidence. Just a few feet from the sculpture, there were what looked like tire tracks through the grass and mud that the analyst was also marking as evidence.
Most of the damage to the sculpture appeared to be at the bottom, near the heron’s feet. It looked like one of the blades of grass was broken off.
Jo DeDecker, who maintains and repairs bronze sculptures, was on scene Friday observing the damage. She said she hadn’t assessed what would need to be repaired, but said she would be able to fix it on-site and relatively easily.
This is how Loveland’s beautiful bronze sculptures shine
She said she recently repaired a statue in in Glenmere Park in Greeley after it was stolen. She added that instances like these are disappointing, but that luckily bronze is forgiving and can be restored.
Board Chairman of the Visual Arts Commission, Greg Hoff, who was also on scene Friday said the police department let the board know about the incident earlier that day.
“It’s very disappointing,” Hoff said. “Hopefully it wasn’t a community member that did it.”
He added that he doesn’t know why someone would want to steal the sculpture, but said bronze is valuable.
Hoff said, as far as he knew, that Loveland sculptures in the past have been damaged, but not stolen. He added that although the Amazing Grace sculpture wasn’t taken, it seemed like an elaborate plan to try and pull the sculpture off its base using a rope and vehicle.
The case is currently under investigation by the Loveland Police Department.
Salazar and Ryan work together to collect evidence. (Sharla Steinman/Loveland Reporter-Herald)