Spokane County Sheriff’s Office seeks help in solving cretaceous kidnapping

Mead’s shiniest theropod is missing.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in recovering a metal statue of a Tyrannosaurus rex stolen from a roundabout at North Dupont Road and North Mellon Parkway in the early hours of March 8, according to a news release from the agency. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Mark Gregory said the statue is likely around 3 feet tall.

Police estimate the custom statue, which looks more like a mylar balloon of a cartoon T. rex, and the damage caused to the stand during the heist to hold around $70,000 in value. Deputies are investigating, and possible charges include theft and malicious mischief, the release states.

The unique fixture was tied to the neighboring Fossil Park development that is under construction as part of Liberty Lake-based Greenstone Corp.’s Mead Works project, according to an Instagram post from the company last year.

“He’s bold and bone-a fide adorable – say hello to our neighborhood T-Rex!” the post reads. “… He’s already making Mead Works a dino-mite place to be.”

Developer Jim Frank, now-retired founder of Greenstone, said the statue was made by New Zealand-based artist Gregor Kregar and is half of a pair the company placed in the neighborhood. The other is a large, cast-bronze with patina T. rex in the park adjacent to the roundabout that carries a dinosaur theme throughout the play equipment.

Art helps a neighborhood feel unique, fosters a sense of community and allows for a bit of fun in development work, Frank said, pointing to the public art in fellow Greenstone development Kendall Yards.

“Even though that dinosaur had only been in there for a few months, it’s already become beloved by the neighborhood,” Frank said.

At Christmas, the few residents in the still-under-construction neighborhood dressed the shiny T. rex in a Santa suit. He sported a green cap and shamrocks ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, he said.

“People are really using it the way we love to see it used,” Frank said. “It’s really a shame it was stolen.”

Frank is hopeful someone will come forward about the crime and the dinosaur is returned.

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information about the theft, the location of the custom artwork and the involved parties to contact Detective Nicholas Kauffman at (509) 477-3224, and reference case No. 10030824.

“I imagine it will be hard to hide,” Gregory said.