A Dairy Queen in Phoenix, Arizona had a sculpture of a large red spoon stolen on March 25th. Since this is the only location in the state with an oversized version of the chain’s signature red plastic spoons, it is a popular spot for Instagram photos. Once word got out about its theft, locals and internet sleuths alike were on a hunt to get it back.
Over the weekend, Phoenix police released surveillance footage of the theft. The video shows two men and a woman getting the spoon out of its base. Before putting it on a large flatbed connected to a pickup truck. Apparently, this footage rattled the culprits enough to ditch the evidence.
Around 7 am Monday morning, Michael Foster was walking by a local middle school while playing Pokémon GO. That is when he spotted the 15-foot spoon lying on the ground behind a fence for the baseball field. Just 2 miles from where the heist took place.
“The first thing I did was send a picture to my wife and I said, ‘It’s the spoon,’’ Foster said. “She said call the police.” A school maintenance man pushed it over the fence to Foster, who then handed it to the police. “They strapped it to the top of a police cruiser.” Which is just a fun mental image.
Later that same day, Sargent Brian Bower confirmed via e-mail that the spoon had been found.
Franchise owners Raman and Puja Kalra say they would have had to shell out $7,000 to have the sculpture replaced. So they asked locals for help in finding it, even having staff wear t-shirts saying “Where’s My Spoon?.” They also offered a reward of free Blizzards for anyone who helped find the spoon. Foster refused the reward, saying “Honestly, we’re just glad they’re gonna get their spoon back.”
The beloved spoon has since been returned to the Kalras. “We are happy to have our spoon back and we are looking forward to the neighborhood creating more smiles and stories with this now world-famous spoon,” he said.
Police are still trying to catch the spoon-nappers. They are asking the public to contact them with any information that may help identify them.
