'Never had playground equipment get stolen:' Case of the missing purple dinosaur, solved
THIENSVILLE -- A purple dinosaur goes missing from storage in Thiensville. The piece of playground equipment disappeared just days before it was set to hit the auction block.
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Village Park, Thiensville
At Village Park in Thiensville, a renaissance is underway. There is a new park entrance and playground equipment. The park's re-imagining is bringing some of its prehistoric pieces to storage at the DPW yard.
From a slide to a quad-bobble, Public Works Director Andy LaFond says the playground equipment has plenty of life left.
"We thought, what a good fundraiser," LaFond said.
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Village Park, Thiensville
On Saturday, June 2, all of the old equipment is going up for auction. The mission -- to raise money to help build an interactive water fountain and band shell. It is a fundraiser that nearly lost a valuable item.
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Tina the Triceratops
"We did have a dinosaur running away. A purple dinosaur," LaFond said.
On Sunday, May 20, surveillance video showed a couple arriving to dump off wood -- and leaving with Tina the Triceratops.
"I've never had playground equipment get stolen before as long as I've been doing law enforcement," said Thiensville investigator Glenn Janzer.
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Tina the Triceratops
Janzer said it did not take long to solve the crime.
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A license plate number led police to a family's house in town -- where Tina was already in the backyard.
"They thought it was just a piece of junk," Janzer said.
An 18-year-old man from Brown Deer and 20-year-old woman from Thiensville are learning the hard way -- ask before you take.
"Don't take things that don't belong to you. Theft is theft, no matter what it is," Janzer said.
The disappearing dino -- saved from auction extinction.
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"It can be yours legally, with the highest bid," LaFond said.
Theft charges have been referred to the district attorney's office.
Tina the triceratops was the top seller at the auction -- going for $1,500.