Officials Fear Abducted Caterpillars May Never Be Found
Bristol Herald Courier
One of the statues in Bristol’s Caterpillar Crawl appears in a photo taken during the feature’s unveiling in May
BRISTOL, Va. – The rightful owners of downtown Bristol’s abducted caterpillar sculptures have all but given up hope for their safe return.
The missing critters, part of the Caterpillar Crawl children’s scavenger hunt, were heisted almost two weeks ago. And despite promises of amnesty and rewards for information, the literacy program’s organizers said they aren’t any closer to finding the culprit.
“We’re going to replace them, and we’re going to continue to replace them,” said Katy Sikorski, president-elect of the Junior League, the nonprofit group that sponsored the crawl. “That’s $1,500 from our budget that would go to hungry kids, promoting literacy, to children’s classrooms. It’s the pits, it truly is the pits.”
Police are still reviewing surveillance footage from the time of the theft, and Sikorski said they will not press charges if the caterpillars are returned unharmed.
If that doesn’t happen soon, the new crop of sculptures will have a more-secure anchoring system, said artist Val Lyle.
“These are mean-spirited vandals that are hard to outsmart,” Lyle said.
To remove the original critters, the thieves apparently used a bolt cutter or hammer.
The Caterpillar Crawl, which debuted in Bristol in late May, was designed to promote children’s literacy with hands-on adventures based on a popular kids book.
The crawl sends children, lime green maps in hand, searching for 10 tiny bronze bugs hidden along State Street.
The initiative is fashioned after a similar project in Greenville, S.C., featuring mice. There, in almost 10 years, only two sculptures have been stolen.
“The mice have been on Main Street since 2000, so we really have had very few problems,” “Mice on Main” author Linda Kelly wrote in an e-mail. “Most people are so delighted with the hunt for the mice being there that they don’t bother them except to rub their ears and noses!”
Sikorski and Lyle hope this is the last time they’ll have to replace the caterpillars.
Lyle said the sculpting process is long and laborious, so permanent replacements can’t be finished for at least six weeks. But summer is the prime time for kids to do the hunt, so Lyle and Sikorski are determined to find a way for it to continue minus the pilfered landmarks. So far, they’ve tried laminating photos and taping, gluing and otherwise sticking them to the sites. Each time, however, the stand-in stop was stolen in no time.
“I was using liquid nails,” Sikorski said. “I put one on the guardrail at Piedmont and State Street, then the one at the Wachovia ATM, then Java J’s. By the time I got back to the guardrail, it was gone. Within the hour, it didn’t even have a chance to fully dry.”
Now, Lyle is working on stand-in epoxy sculptures.
“They’re kind of cheap and ugly, and hopefully not as desirable to steal,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to see kids looking for clues that are gone. This is a gift to the city, to the people of Bristol. I think we could all help keep an eye on them for the children’s sake.”
If you have any information on the stolen caterpillars, please call the Junior League’s anonymous tip line at (423) 956-2116.
| (276) 645-2531
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
I find it deplorable that any person should feel the need to steal a sculpture from our downtown area. This project was designed to promote literacy in our city’s children and to foster family togetherness - certainly a worthy cause. Not only do the children lose by this meaningless act, but so do all of the people of Bristol. Any attempts to beautify or add character to our downtown should be supported, not destroyed. The Caterpillar Crawl is a creative and fun addition to Bristol, and is an asset to both residents and tourists. I find it sad that someone is so bored and lacking in values that they feel the need to steal the hard work of people who are trying to make a positive impact on our community.
“We’re going to replace them, and we’re going to continue to replace them” WHY??????
Just open up an account with your $1500 budget and take care of the childrens’ needs that way.
Makes more sense than wanting to keep replacing statues of caterpillars!
Maybe aliens abducted them!
I know this is not a “funny” crime…but sometimes a little humor is needed.
Hope the caterpillars come home soon and this event continues for the kids!
I’m really sorry that this was messed up for the children in Bristol. It was fun for the children to hunt the caterpillars. However, I have to agree with Nuff said….if I had to chose between replacing them and feeding the hungry children, the children would win. Sorry.
Duke—How nice of you to invite me to the Follies event but I am afraid that is not my type of activity. I am not a black tie and tails and cocktail dress sort of person but rather a roll up my sleeves, do what has to be done, get the work done, go home and take a shower and go back at it again another day. And before anyone takes this wrong, there is need and room for both so I am not being derogatory. Some people work with their brains and connections and get things done, others work with their hands and backs and get things done, and some do both. All that matters is that things are getting done. But again, thanks for the inclusion and I wish you all luck and success.
This is so sad. All the nice things that
are done for this area are always messed
up by a few people who do not respect any-
thing or anyone.
Nuff
Since you don’t know much about that organization or live in Bristol, why don’t you take the opportunity to learn about and help the JLoB out by attending their Annual Follies Event coming up on November 6th 2009.
It’s held at the Paramount Theater and is an enjoyable event. You’d have the opportunity to have dinner at one of the numerous restaurants on State Street and a night out with your spouse or significant other.
There is plenty of time to plan so just put it on your schedule and I’ll see you there!
Wow, what is wrong with you people? All I did was state that they will have to make a decision as to what is most important to them. In no way was that intended as derogatory. I don’t live in Bristol, I don’t know anything about this group, I am sure they are fine people and do good things. Knowing that they can make their own decisons is proof to me that they are not a government entity! And the reason I didn’t respond right away is that I do have other things to do besides sit in here at the computer. And I don’t need to tell anyone what I do to help others, that is my business. Do you want to tell us what you do Duke and Evaningstar? If you feel the need to toot your own horn, have at it. Why you think that I care what they do with the money they raise is beyond me. I would think that now this is known that those of you who are able will donate monies to help them.
Duke, you will be waiting for an answer to your question until you turn blue and expire. Some only know how to critisize and downgrade people for actually leaving their house and making an effort to enrich the lives of others.
I thought this was a great activity for kids. It gets their families involved, get’s them out from in front of the video games and keeps their minds rolling. Way to go ladies..
nuff…of you!
JLoB is not some gov’t entity that is REQUIRED to support any of these causes. They’re a group of local women trying to make a positive impact in the lives of children. They budgeted and raised money to have the caterpillars installed and that deserves our appreciation. The fact the JLoB cares enough to replace them, reflects a committment to their original cause. We should be proud of people in the community that want to make this a better place to live.
I know many of the JLoB ladies. In my experience, they have better things to do than to address your deficiencies directly, so for the rest of Bristol, I will take that task upon myself.
You obviously have the time and energy to make derogatory comments as to the worthiness of someone else’s community service efforts…Would you mind telling everyone what you’ve achieved lately to make Bristol Va/Tn a better place to live? We are all waiting….
Advertisement