Anaheim : Missing Statue Spurs a Rare Steak Ransom

“I figured eventually someone would rip it off,” Police Lt. Jack Parra said. “It’s too tempting. To a group of fraternity boys it’s a challenge, you now.”

Perhaps, but all the Police Department knew for sure Wednesday was that the life-size fiberglass statue of a steer was missing from the roof of Wall’s Meats on North Euclid Street. It had been there for at least 12 years and was still there last Sunday, said Alan Wall, one of the store owners. But when the shop reopened Tuesday morning, the steer was gone, he said.

Wall said it appeared from gouges found in the plaster on the shop’s rear wall that the statue had been lowered from the roof there.

It would not be an easy job, he said, because the bulky statue weighs about 250 pounds. He estimated that replacing it would cost $1,000, or $4 a pound.

Despite the cost, the statue must be replaced, Wall said, because the shop has drawn so much of its identity from the rooftop steer.

“We’ve been saying for years when people call, ‘Just look for the steer and it’ll steer you in here,’ ” he said.

Wall, however, is hoping to ransom, rather than replace, the steer with an offer of $100 in steaks for the statue’s return.

The steaks will be easier to digest, he said.