Stolen property found in water, under Pawnee bridge
There was a sporadic trail of broken dresser drawers along 60th Street heading east out of Peabody Tuesday morning. At Pawnee the trail turned north. In the water under a concrete bridge was the body of the dresser, beached on the mud bottom of Doyle Creek.
Nearby the head and mane of a crouching concrete lion poked out of the stagnant water while Peabody police officers rescued smaller pieces of yard art and piled them on the creek bank.
The stench of rotting meat hung over the area.
"Dead deer," said police chief Jeff Pohlman. "Someone has been poaching and dumping the carcasses down here."
About a half-dozen dead animals were partially visible in the weeds above the bank.
A city crew arrived to help the officers lift the lion from the water.
Officer Travis Wilson said he recognized the lion as one stolen from his mother. He said he thought the statue weighed about 100 pounds.
"Someone really wanted to steal something when they took that," he said. "I had to move it for her once and told her to make up her mind for sure where she wanted it because I wasn't going to move it again!"
About 30 pieces of yard art including concrete frogs, deer, eagle, swan, planters, and other items already had been pulled from the water.
Pohlman said the thefts started about mid-March, mostly on the west side of Peabody.
"We got an anonymous tip about where this stuff was," he said. "We came out here last night after dark and shined our flashlights down into the water. It was pretty easy to see what all was down there."
Pohlman said there are at least four juveniles, possibly as many as six, involved in the thefts.
"We didn't expect to find the deer carcasses," he said. "At this point we don't know if the two crimes are related or not.
"We don't have a dollar amount on the stolen items. We will have to see how many are ruined and see what kind of charges might come of this," he added. "It might end up being a pretty expensive prank for some youngsters."
Anyone missing decorative lawn ornaments should contact Peabody police at 983-2133.
