A tiger statue that weighs several hundred pounds has disappeared from a ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ business, amid heightened public interest in the big cats due to a Netflix series about a felonious former tiger-keeper.
The management of Trail Dust Town issued pleas on social media Monday for the return of the metal sculpture admired by generations of children at the family-friendly, Old West-themed park near the corner of East Tanque Verde and North Kolb roads.
"As if the past few weeks haven't been bad enough, this is a gut punch to all of us here," said a post that went up on the Trail Dust Town Facebook page Monday April 27 around 10:30 a.m.
"Please help renew our faith in the people of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and share this far and wide. We know it's a long shot but if they return the tiger undamaged we won't press charges," it said.
The post didn't mention any potential connection between the theft and the current popularity of the Netflix breakout hit Tiger King, a true crime series about a man who made money breeding tigers and running an Oklahoma zoo and was accused of animal abuse.
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But social media users have been making the connection themselves, posting online responses that draw from the show's screen narrative.
"Carole Baskin did it!" one poster said, a reference to the Tiger King's onscreen arch-enemy, whom he was convicted of trying to have killed.
The real-life Tiger King, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, recently was sentenced to a total 22 years in federal prison for the murder-for-hire plot and also for killing several tigers and falsifying paperwork to cover it up.
In an interview, Jessica Bates Wills, the third generation of her family to operate Trail Dust Town, said “it’s definitely possible†the theft is linked to the popular TV show, though there’s no proof at this point.
The tiger, made of steel and brass, was discovered missing Monday morning.
She said it once belonged to her grandmother and has stood outside the business for about 20 years.
The piece would have been difficult to move, she said. It's about 5 feet long and 2.5 feet tall and weighs between 300 and 400 pounds, she said.
It was secured with a heavy metal chain that would have required bolt cutters to remove, she said.
"It looks like whoever did this knew what they were coming for," Wills said.
She said a police report was filed and area businesses are checking security-camera footage.
