Gainesville police are searching for a statue thief that is suspected of stealing popular bronze statues from a local cemetery. This specific cemetery is known around the area as "Noah's Ark" due to the abundance of animal statues that are scattered throughout the grounds. According to WSB-TV, the thief has stolen multiple statues from the Memorial Park Cemetery and is selling them for scrap. The surveillance footage shows the suspect walking away from the cemetery with the statues in hand.
WSB-TV mentioned that a few of the statues have been recovered, but the cash may have already been pocketed for the rest. Cemetery owner Danny Faulkner said that the cemetery statues are popular amongst children and park visitors.
"People bring their grandkids, their kids out to play on the statuary," Faulkner shared with WSB-TV.
So far, surveillance footage shows a pair of donkey statues being taken but Faulkner has reported a total of 18 missing statues. He mentioned that each statue is worth thousands of dollars, but the value decreases when they are sold for scrap. Four of the statues have already been recovered, but Faulkner is worried that the rest have been cut up and scrapped.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the statue thief.