Dennis the Menace Cartoon-napping
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Touchstone
N 36° 35.873 W 121° 53.179
10S E 599612 N 4050842
It's not the crime of the century, but there will be a few boys and girls that will miss this familiar statue that graced the entry to the Dennis the Menace Playground in Monterey, California.
Waymark Code: WMWYQ
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/30/2006
Views: 215
Update: Dennis has been FOUND! Details at the Monterey County Herald news site:
http://www.montereyherald.com/general-news/20150911/montereys-stolen-statue-of-dennis-the-menace-found-in-florida
One little boy, about the age of the fictional Dennis the Menace, stared longingly at the empty cement block in the playground when he arrived early Saturday morning.
"This is where the Dennis The Menace statue was," the boy said to his father.
He paused, trying to grip a melting snow cone.
"If someone tries to take it again, I'll just kick their butt," he said.
Yep, that's the sentiment of just about everybody around Monterey these days. It may not be
Michelangelo's David, but for residents of Monterey, it was a familiar fixture in the famous playground designed by the creator of the Dennis the Menace comic strip, Hank Ketchum.
The statue itself was designed by Wah Ming Chang, an Academy Award-winning animator who lived in the Carmel area until his death in 2003. He was commissioned to create the statue of the character, inspired by Ketcham's oldest son, Dennis, and made only three other copies.
This particular statue had been at this location for nearly 20 years, until the night of October 26, 2006, when unknown person, or persons snuck into the playground, unscrewed the bolts on the base of the statue (that's right, it wasn't welded in place), and carried the three foot high, 125 pound statue off.
The statue of Dennis was made of brass, and investigators suspect that individuals may have wanted to steal the statue for it's scrap metal value (approximate street value of $150.00).
Investigators are concentrating their efforts on the nearby El Estero Lake, thinking that the perpetrators may have thrown Dennis in the Lake. Divers were searching the muddy depths of the lake over the weekend, but no trace of Dennis could be found.
Investigators were also contacting local metal foundries and recyclers Friday and scanning Web sites such as eBay in case a thief tries to sell the statue as a whole or in pieces.
The Mayor of Monterey, Don Albert, has posted a reward of $5,000.00 to any individual that would lead to the return of Dennis to the city. "That statue is really a symbol of all the goodness and happiness this park has created for people," Albert said at a news conference Friday near the cement slab where Dennis stood days before. "We are truly disappointed."