A prized statue of Jackie Robinson was stolen from a public park in Kansas, sparking a police search Friday and causing outrage throughout the city of Wichita.
The statue honors the first baseball player to break the racial barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947. Surveillance video was made public showing two people dragging the sculpture in the dark.
Police reported via a Facebook post that the statue went missing Thursday morning.
The statue was cut off at the ankles for removal. On Friday, it was noted that only the feet of the Jackie Robinson statue remained.
“I am frustrated by the actions of those individuals who had the audacity to take the Jackie Robinson statue from a park where children and families in our community gather to learn about the history of an American icon who played baseball,” Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said Friday during a news conference. “This should bother all of us.”
He added that it is even more troubling that the theft of the statue happened shortly before Black History Month.
Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, paving the way for generations of African-American players. He is considered not only a sports legend, but a civil rights icon.
“A lot of people want to get to these individuals before the authorities do,” Johnson said. “Again, as the chief and (the district attorney) mentioned, if you have that statue bring it here today. Now.”
The Wichita Metro Crime Commission offered a reward of up to $2,500 for leads leading to arrests and another $5,000 for leads leading to the statue’s recovery.