Bronze statue stolen in Edina found in Richfield

Nick Legeros feared the worst when he got news this week that somebody had stolen the bronze statue he created to pay tribute to the former CEO of Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines and installed two years ago in Edina's Centennial Lakes Park. He figured it might be sold for scrap.

At best, he expected the "Dreams Take Flight" sculpture to have saw marks and be all banged and scratched up if he ever got it back.

Legeros, an Edina resident, was all smiles Thursday after police recovered the 150-pound statue that went missing from the northeast corner of the park sometime after noon Sunday.

A motorist who had heard a news report about the theft saw the statue Wednesday night in the front yard of a residence on the 7200 block of Columbus Avenue S. in Richfield and called police. Officers retrieved the statue and returned it to Legeros at his northeast Minneapolis studio.

"It was in reasonably good shape," Legeros said.

Police have yet to say how somebody was able to free the statue — which depicts a young girl playing with a toy Boeing 747 — from a boulder it was secured to or who was responsible.

A park employee noticed it missing and alerted authorities.

Regardless of the motive, "it made me sick," he said of the theft and waiting three days to see if the sculpture valued at $25,000 would turn up.

More than 200 employees of the old Northwest — which merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008 — had contributed to the piece recognizing the former airline's leader and Edina resident Donald Nyrop.

"I bet it was a kick in the gut for them, too," Legeros said.

He spent Thursday cleaning up the statue and said he will figure out how to reinstall it in Edina's most-used park. The statue was popular with guests who often stopped to pose for photos, he said.

The piece was one of two that comprise "Dreams Take Flight." The second, which was not taken or damaged, features a boy playing with a toy Convair 580 aircraft.

"These statues are built to withstand an act of God," he said. "But they can't withstand an act of stupidity like this."

The Edina Crime Prevention Fund gave $500 to the person who found the statue.

However, a $1,000 award is still active for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of people involved, said Kaylin Eidsness at the city of Edina. Officials felt it was a good use of money to reward the person who found the sculpture, noting that the goals were twofold: recover the art and catch the people who stole it.

Anybody with information about this week's theft can call Edina police at 952-826-1610.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768