A second Hokie Bird statue has fallen victim to thieves, Blacksburg Police reported last Wednesday. The statue, named "The Bird You Can Bank On" was removed from its base in front of the First National Bank building at 601 North Main Street sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on the nights of August 2 and August 3.
The statue was painted to look like a businessman wearing a blue jacket, gold watch and carrying a newspaper. Its tail feathers were painted with a collection of maroon and orange neckties.
The person or people responsible are said to have removed the four bolts holding the statue in place prior to removing it from its foundation.
A $1,000 cash reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the theft, considered grand larceny, which is a felony under Virginia law.
The Blacksburg Partnership, the organization responsible for the Gobble de Art program that funded the statues, is providing the money for the reward.
The statues are part of a fundraising program designed to raise money for a project intended to redevelop the downtown Blacksburg district. Local businesses and artists collaborated on each of the seventy-five fiberglass statues, which will remain in place until the end of October. Fifteen will remain in place permanently, while the remainder will be auctioned off in a fundraiser to be held at the German Club manor.
Police are working with Partnership officials in efforts to make the hollow, 150-pound statues more difficult to steal.
The incident is the second criminal incident directed at one of the statues.
On July 15, a Blacksburg Police officer noticed the disappearance of "Hiker Hokie," a statue located along the Huckleberry Trail. The statue had been torn from its foundation, one fiberglass toe still attached to the metal base.
The statue was found a few hundred yards down the trail and repaired free of charge by a local volunteer. In a previous incident, vandals had removed a metal hiking pole attached to the statue, damaging it in the process.
Police are still investigating all three cases, and anyone with information about the incidents of vandalism or the theft is advised to contact Lt. Bruce Bradbery of the Blacksburg Police Department.
