A $12,000 bronze cowboy statue has been returned to its rightful owner nearly 40 years after it was stolen from an Arizona museum, according to reports.
The 2-foot-tall sculpture of a sitting cowboy holding a can of chewing tobacco in his hand was stolen from Scottsdale's Mamen Gallery II in 1985, but in the days before security cameras, police investigated the case. I didn't make any cracks. ABC15 reported.
The statue was purchased by the gallery's owners at the time, Bob and Betty Mammen (both now deceased), and one of their customers wanted it, so the couple's daughter told the station.
The break-in and theft occurred before the customer could pick it up.
“She was devastated,” Nancy Emmons said of her mother.
“There were a lot of pieces in the gallery that were worth more than that, but that's what they wanted,” she said of the thieves.
The statue, called “Pinch” after a 1970s cigarette advertising slogan, is one of about 40 created by New Mexico artist Gordon Snideau.
Last year, ABC 15 reporters asked authorities for a list of stolen art from the Copper State for reporting.
The statue was one of the lost treasures on the air, and it came to the attention of someone who knew Arlyn Cooke, who owned the bronze statue after receiving it from her late brother-in-law in 2022. , ABC 15 reported.
Cook, of Gilbert, said the statue had been with her brother-in-law for more than 30 years, but she did not believe her loved one was involved in the theft.
“He wouldn't have stolen it,” he told police. “He traded in antiques, so I think he probably got it in a trade.”
Cook reportedly called authorities and the FBI came to pick him up at his home.
ABC 15 then found Nancy Emmons, who still had documents proving it belonged to her family. The artifact currently resides in her living room, and she plans to donate it to a museum.
“I wish he had recovered while his parents were still alive. They would have loved it,” Emmons was quoted as saying. “I’m sure they’re looking down and really happy to have him back.”
She also called Cook to thank him for returning it.
“I was very impressed with that,” Emmons said. “You rarely hear about someone doing something right like that these days.”
