Corby skater statue to see repairs in short order

By Cameron Montemayor

A popular skater statue and centerpiece of the northeast parkway will be saved after it was discovered in Andrew County last week.

Park officials confirmed the bronze statue from the “Catch Me If You Can” display near Corby Pond was delivered to Machine Head, a Kansas City conservator, on Monday. The statue was stolen March 4 and later discovered on March 26 in Andrew County.

“They did tell me it would be at least two weeks before they can get to it. So I’m anticipating within a month, by the end of April, we should have it back in place,” said Jeff Atkins, assistant director of St. Joseph Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities. “We received damage, but it wasn’t real extensive damage.”

Park officials consider themselves fortunate that the statue was recovered in good enough condition for doable and timely repairs. Unlike in the past where statues stolen could be replaced — a $15,000 to $25,000 cost — the statues are now irreplaceable if not returned or found going forward.

“The artist, her name is Rosie Sandifer. She’s from New Mexico and she has retired this series and the molds have been destroyed. So if we lose one, we can’t replace it. So that’s a bad quandary we’re in,” he said.

An exact cost for the repairs hasn’t been determined yet. Atkins said a clean cut above the roller skate by the thief — likely done by a saw — will allow for a good bond for repairs that will be fraction of the cost of replacing it entirely. Repair costs will come from the parks maintenance fund, which has just over $2 million budgeted for fiscal year 2024.

A large hole now sits where the concrete slab once held it in place. New concrete will have to be repoured once the statue is returned.

“We’re just hoping and praying that this is the last time we have to deal with any type of damage or theft with these statues,” Atkins said.

St. Joseph resident Michael Carpentieri was out enjoying a walk on the parkway on Monday. He said it’s unfortunate that theft issues have continued to plague the display.

“It just seems like we can’t have nice things,” he said.

As of now, there are no immediate plans to relocate the display within the park or to another location. A large sewer located under Corby Pond makes moving it there highly unlikely.

“The only place it’d be any safer would be indoors somewhere and where would that be?” Atkins said. “They take up a pretty good sized area and we just don’t have any buildings with a lobby large enough really to put them in to protect them.”

No suspects have been named in connection with the latest theft.

The Corby skater statue wasn’t the only notable piece of art taken in for repair work on Monday.

“Espiritu Libre,” a ballerina statue previously located outside the Missouri Theater as part of the Downtown Sculpture Walk, was dropped off for its own repairs.

The statue was vandalized multiple times in 2022 and will likely be moved into the theater lobby going forward to prevent further damage or theft.