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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A statue of baseball legend Jackie Robinson was stolen from McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas. According to reports by ABC News, the statue was found, burned and dismantled in a trash can Tuesday morning.
The statue was found in response to the Wichita Fire Department’s response to the call of a trash can on fire, which ultimately was the statue on fire.
The Wichita Fire Department described the state of the statue as “not salvageable at this time” and estimated that the damages from the statue being stolen and burned will total up to $75,000.
The Wichita Police Department is investigating this as an arson case, with the Chief of the Wichita Police saying, “We will be arresting several people for what they have done to our community.”
While the suspect(s) are still at large, the police have recovered the pick-up truck they believe was used to load the statue from the park and have asked the public to send in any tips they might have.
Jackie Robinson was the first African American Major League Baseball player, breaking the league’s color barrier in 1947. Robinson was elected to the Major League Hall of Fame in 1962.
