Case of the Kidnaped Bear: Police Don’t Find It Funny

The kidnaping of a uniformed teddy bear from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division was a holiday prank, but officers at the station weren’t laughing Sunday.

“It’s a joke, but it’s not a real funny joke,” said Sgt. Ken Dionne. “It’s the type of thing that internally . . . is fine because you can understand how it was intended. But when it gets outside of the immediate group, it causes a little embarrassment and hurt feelings in terms of the person who donated it.”

The 10-inch teddy bear, clad in a blue police uniform, was displayed at the station’s front desk in the center of a wreath presented to police by a grateful citizen a few weeks ago. But police discovered Friday that the bear had disappeared, and on the front desk was a ransom note demanding $500 for its release.

Accompanying the note was a Polaroid photograph of the bear gagged, bound and blindfolded--with a .38-caliber revolver held to its head.

The prankster, who police believe is an officer in the Foothill Division, was still at large Sunday. Dionne said that the bear was still missing and that hopes were diminishing that it would be found.

“It may mysteriously materialize,” he said. “But that might be the best we can hope for.”