THOMASTON — The bear is back.
Thomaston High School’s stuffed grizzly bear mascot was retrieved by police last weekend, after being stolen from the school on Dec. 21 during a boys’ basketball game.
The bear usually sits in the school’s entrance in the lobby. Once the case is closed, the school will be able to put the mascot back in its rightful place.
Thomaston Detective Sgt. Jim Campbell confirmed that the bear had been found after the department received a tip on the whereabouts of the bear.
"We were following a lead and we recovered him based on a tip we received," Campbell said Wednesday.
The bear is in good shape ‘as far as we can see," the detective added.
He said the investigation is ongoing and that multiple arrests are expected. "Those arrests will be forthcoming," Campbell said.
When the bear will go back to the school is unknown at this point.
"It depends on how fast we can close the investigation," Campbell said.
The idea of investigating the theft of a stuffed animal might be amusing to some people, but Campbell said stealing school property is a crime.
"People might see (a stuffed bear) as kind of a strange item to be stolen. But we treat it as a crime, just as if someone stole something else, like a pile of cash," he said. "It’s still a very serious offense."
The anonymous tip led police to find the bear, Campbell said. "We developed an investigation and that’s how we found it," he said.