A Wichita youth-baseball league’s Jackie Robinson statue — which was cut at its feet and stolen from McAdams Park last week, leading to a citywide manhunt and national media attention — was found charred and in pieces Tuesday morning in Garvey Park. Garvey Park is in south Wichita, about seven miles from where it was stolen. “It’s not salvageable at this time,” Wichita police spokesperson Andrew Ford said. Ford said they are still investigating to find suspects. First responders were called to a trash can fire at the park around 8:38 a.m. and found the statue. When firefighters extinguished the flames, they found pieces of the statue. It’s unclear if the statue, valued at $75,000, was cut or fell apart while being burned. It appears a fire was lit in a dumpster behind a pavilion bathroom at the park. Police were searching the area for other clues. Wichita Police Department Lt. Aaron Moses said that he didn’t think anyone was in custody. Chief Joe Sullivan and other city leaders held a news conference at 10:30 a.m. at the park. On Monday, police announced that they found what they thought was the truck used in the crime unoccupied somewhere in the city. The truck wasn’t reported stolen and police have talked with the owner. He said police have conducted close to if not over 100 interviews since the statue was stolen early Thursday morning. Vandals cut the statue at the feet and then loaded it in a truck and took off, according to surveillance video from WPD.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
