A beloved animal sculpture is missing from its perch on Stories Beach, just south of Campbell River.
Drifted Creations artist Alex Witcombe confirmed Buckminster, the Grey Owl’s disappearance on his Facebook page March 28.
“It’s official,” writes Witcombe. “Buckminster the Grey Owl at Stories Beach has been owl-napped and is no longer there.
“It really sucks that in times when people need every tiny scrap of joy they can, someone makes the deliberate choice to remove one of these pieces of joy.”
After initial reports came in that Buckminster might be missing, Witcombe put a call out on his Facebook page to see if anyone could confirm he’d flown the coop.
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A photo of his Buckminster’s empty perch with just the screws sticking up verified the flight.
Witcombe said the owl sculpture didn’t leave of his own accord.
“Whoever owl-napped him unscrewed the claws from the stump as well,” said Witcombe.
It’s not the first time a member of his driftwood menagerie has gone missing.
Fergus the Fox disappeared in 2018 from his log in the Beaver lodge Lands, but reappeared the following week.
The sculpture was later relocated to the Oyster River Nature Park trail, but disappeared again in July 2019. It was recovered by police a few days later.
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Witcombe isn’t sure of what motivated the theft of Buckminster, but does have a message for whoever is responsible:
“If you nabbed Buckminster in the hopes of displaying him in your yard or garden, maybe think twice and anonymously return him.
“Somebody somewhere at some point is going to recognize the sculpture and then your game is up. Do the right thing. Return the joy you have taken.”
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