Little Bronze Girl found

The Little Bronze Girl, a 3-foot-tall metal statue of a child reading a book, has been a beloved part of downtown Camas since being installed on a bench at the corner of Northeast Fourth Avenue and Northeast Cedar Street in 2002.

“People really, really do care about her,” said Carrie Schulstad, the director of the Downtown Camas Association. “She has provided memories. She’s provided connections. She is so beloved in our community.”

So, when the Little Bronze Girl went missing last month, the downtown Camas community jumped into action.

Autumn Leaf Books owner Eden Wade first alerted Schulstad to the missing statue on the afternoon of May 29.

“At first I really couldn’t believe it,” Schulstad said. “We were stunned, but also really, really sad.”

The community flooded Schulstad’s email and social media with photos and tales of the statue.

“There were people who even said they had a name for her and called her by name,” Schulstad said. “There was just an incredible connection.”

Two days later, the statue was found on a Lacamas Lake boat ramp off Leadbetter Road.

Schulstad said she was “absolutely thrilled beyond belief” when she learned the statue had been recovered without any noticeable damage.

“I know the power of what she means for our town,” Schulstad said. “I had chills going down my whole body (from) pure joy.”

Camas city officials are preparing the statue for her return to downtown Camas, and Schulstad said the downtown association plans to commemorate her return with a rededication ceremony later this summer.

Fisherman alerts police

Camas police believe the Little Bronze Girl was taken either late at night on May 28 or early in the morning on May 29, according to a police report.

“I looked at the immediate area where the statue was taken and found no evidence left behind,” Camas police Officer Tyson Simmons stated in the report. “The original bolts were intact that anchored the statue. There was no noticeable damage to the concrete fountain or surrounding sidewalk.”

Simmons checked with employees at several surrounding businesses, including Papermaker Pride, the Camas Boutique Hotel and Caffe Piccolo, for security footage, but found none.

No leads presented themselves until two days later, at 5 a.m. May 31, when Officer Ryan Devaney responded to a call at 900 S.E. Leadbetter Road. The caller said they’d found the statue at a nearby boat ramp.

Upon arrival, Devaney saw the caller, Matthew Sork, on a boat driving back to a boat ramp on the northeast side of Lacamas Lake.

“I noticed the statue of the girl was on its side by a bush lying on the ground,” Devaney stated in his report. “When Matthew got back on shore, he told me that when he had arrived to go fishing on his boat, he found the statue of the girl just laying in the middle of the boat ramp. He moved it out of the way and placed it on its side by the bush to let water drain out of it.”

Devaney picked up the statue, belted it into the backseat of his vehicle, and brought it to the Camas police station. The case is suspended pending further evidence.

Randy Curtis, a Camas Downtown Association board member who created a new book for the Little Bronze Girl after the previous one was stolen in 2014, said he initially wondered if somebody took the statue to melt it down and sell the metal, “which would’ve been terrible,” but now he thinks the theft may have been a prank.

“She was bolted down, but they broke her right off the bolts,” Schulstad said. “I’ve been told that Public Works is looking at a way to really secure her even better. I asked if they could chip her, like you do a pet.”

Doug Flanagan: 360-735-4669; doug.flanagan@columbian.com