Amber Willard
NORTHWEST DISTRICT -- Where does one hide a 400-pound elephant? Anyone
with an idea is urged to call Burbank Police.
The elephant, actually a three-foot tall vintage ride of the sort
commonly found in front of supermarkets, was taken from a storage area at
Tribal Scenery, which makes sets and props for films and commercials. The
company is at 3216 Vanowen St.
The pilfered pachyderm, part of a children's coin-operated ride, was
reported stolen to police on Friday, but was last seen June 4.
"You couldn't just pick it up and throw it on a pick-up truck," said
Jeremiah Redclay, the company's senior coordinator for projects.
The elephant, which was at Tribal Scenery to be repainted, belongs to
a commercial director who had the ride as a child and was having it
revamped for his son, Redclay said. The director declined to be
identified for this article.
The ride, with the elephant's trunk raised in trumpet, slowly raises
the rider up and down.
The gray elephant, with a red saddle and green base, was wrapped in
plastic in a locked storage area, company officials said. When workers
arrived June 5, the plastic was still there, but the elephant was gone
and the gate was open.
Redclay said he does not suspect any workers of taking the animal. The
company is in a busy industrial area.
Determined to recover the missing mammal, Redclay, who planned to
paint the elephant himself, has driven through alleys and neighborhoods
searching for clues.
"It sticks out like a sore thumb," Redclay said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Burbank police
at 238-3000.
