UNC-Wilmington law enforcement officials are currently investigating the theft of a Seahawk statue over the weekend.
The bronze mascot–mounted on a granite base at the entrance of the Warwick Center–was reported missing at 8:56 a.m. Saturday, July 5, according to the campus police department’s online crime log.
A UNCW spokeswoman said police believe the statue was removed sometime between late Friday evening and early Saturday morning.
The Seahawk was broken off near the bird’s talons. The commissioned statue was valued at $70,000 in 2003.
The same statue was stolen in July of 2003 but quickly recovered, according to university archives. The sculpture, created by Joe Orlando, had been similarly ripped from its base. Soon after the incident, a Wilmington resident walked outside her apartment and found the 75-pound statue on the landing.
After some restoration and reattachment by metal sculptor Dumay Gorham III, the Seahawk returned to its home in front of Warwick Center in September of that year.
UNCW police are in the process of reviewing video feed over the weekend from an outdoor camera located in the vicinity.
Anyone with information regarding the theft is asked to call the UNCW University Police Department at (910) 962-2222, or anonymously at (910) 962-TIPS.
