Thieves steal bronze statue of a young boy worth $30,000 from Linde Reserve in Stepney

A BRONZE statue of a young boy worth tens of thousands of dollars is missing from a park in Adelaide’s east. The local council is desperately hoping it’ll be found.

A BRONZE statue worth tens of thousands of dollars is missing from a park in Adelaide’s east — believed stolen early this week.

Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council is asking for the public’s help to find the $30,000-statue of a young boy, part of the $100,000-Matilda’s Playground installation.

It is believed to have gone missing from Linde Reserve overnight on Monday.

A local resident reported the missing statue to the council yesterday morning.

Mayor Robert Bria is asking for anyone with information on the stolen statue to contact police.

“On staff inspection, it appears that an attempt was also made to remove the woman holding the child, because it was loose from the base,” Mr Bria said.

“We are angry that it has gone missing and very disappointed for the community.

“The statue was very much the focal point for people to visit the reserve and I’m sure they’d like to see it returned.”

The council installed the statue at the park in 2011 during an upgrade.

It was part of a series of artworks, including statues of a spider in a tree, a sleeping cat, a howling wolf and a tuning fork.

Police said they were investigating the matter and urged anyone with information to contact them.