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A sculpture of a lion that weighs approximately 300 pounds and is valued at $12,000 disappeared from a Park City Kimball Arts Festival setup sometime late Friday or early Saturday, the sculptor said, a rare high-dollar theft during the annual festival.
Fredrick Prescott, a Santa Fe, N.M., sculptor and a veteran of the festival, said the piece was last seen between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday. It was left unsecured during the overnight hours. His location is close to the Caledonian along lower Main Street.
Prescott said the piece, bright yellow and bright red, is six feet long, three feet tall and three feet wide. It is made of powder-coated steel. He said two people working together could lift the piece with difficulty, but it would be easier to move if the head was removed first. It could also be dragged by two people.
Prescott said a sculpture of his was once stolen in a parking area in lower Deer Valley in a previous year's festival.
"You don't think of Park City as a place you get robbed," Prescott said.
He said it could be difficult for someone to sell the piece on the black market since it is unique. Prescott plans to monitor online classified ads.
Chris Crowley, the festival's director of operations, said the case is "very unusual" for the event. There was not another theft reported in the overnight hours, he said.
"I can't even think of a time we had a theft like this," Crowley, who has been involved with the festival for 10 years, said.
He said organizers will increase security patrols in the overnight hours between Saturday and Sunday.
The Park City Police Department said Saturday it did not have leads in the case, but it would look for the piece in online classified ads as well.