Thieves Steal Heavy Statues In Central Mass.
LANCASTER (CBS) - Diane DeMango stands where there should be an 800-pound replica of the Venus Italica.
"We just loved her," said DeMango.
Thieves stole the beloved goddess that stood year-round in her Lancaster yard.
"She was the hit of our annual summer party," DeMango said. "People always took pictures with her."
Early Thursday morning, the statue vanished. One of at least four large statues recently stolen in the surrounding area.
"You would have to come around in here to look at her and see that it was a statue, so that's what's concerning us," said DeMango.
The thieves clearly knew what they were doing coming off the street and stealing the statue while the couple slept feet away in their home.
"There were three or four more on each of the statues," said Samantha Robinson, a business owner, as she held a hook.
The thieves proved they were prepared when they stole two replicas from outside the new shop, Jack and Samm's Consignment Gallery in Fitchburg.
"It had to take a couple of people and probably some machinery," said Robinson.
They cut clean through the steel anchors. The cement and fiberglass 7-foot tall figures each weigh about 400 pounds. The only clue to the criminals is surveillance video of a pick-up truck.
"(The pair of statues) was like our trademark almost, that's what they've become, so seeing them gone it was the disrespect feeling," said Robinson.
She paid $2,400 for her duo that originally came from Europe.
Diane and her husband, Jason Hietala, are respected art and antique dealers. They and police believe the thieves are reselling the statues. But, there remains a big mystery in this caper.
"I don't know how they got it, honestly, I would really like to know," said DeMango.
