Stolen bronze eagle sculpture recovered - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

A bronze eagle sculpture taken from the Big Creek Greenway in Forsyth County in August has been recovered, according to Forsyth County authorities.

According to Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, investigators say the sculpture was recovered on Wednesday evening at a residence in Forsyth County. They say the sculpture is in good condition.

For two weeks, Forsyth County deputies searched diligently for the expensive eagle statue.

"Through the help of the media, we were able to obviously let everyone know what it looked like and ultimately that assisted us in recovering it," said Lt. Bill Franco of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.

The three-foot eagle was stolen from a Forsyth County park. Deputies said they recovered the heavy bronze statue after Lance White, the owner of a jewelry store, called and reported someone was trying to sell it to him.

"A gentleman who's been doing yard work for me for about two, two-and-a-half years called me – or texted me actually, and said he had a bronze statue," said White.

White said that when he got the text, he was curious.

"I said, ‘What kind of statue is it?' He said, ‘It stands 3 feet tall and the eagle has a 4-and-a-half foot wing spread.' And when he said that, it sent chills up my spine because I knew that we had finally found the eagle," said White.

Deputies picked it up late Wednesday. They haven't made any arrests yet and are still investigating.  They say a group of thieves may have stolen it believing it was copper instead of the heavy bronze.
    
"The eagle itself is probably in the neighborhood of 600 to 650 pounds and it took approximately six of us to lift it into the back of this pickup truck," said Franco.

White said the man who had it had purchased it from men in a pickup truck for $300. Deputies say it's worth $18,000, and that the county leases it from the artist for more than $8,000 a year.

The eagle will now go back to the parks and recreation department.

No arrests have been made. The theft of the sculpture remains under investigation.