Here's a holiday teaser for you: What's giant, green and gone?
Over at Sloane’s General Store in Alcova, a Sinclair dinosaur that looks just like ones across the state and region has gone missing.
"You can't just drive around town with a dino in the back of your truck. Someone's going to notice it," said Brian Black, who's owned the local staple for outdoorsmen and anglers since 2014 with his wife.
But it seems that's just what happened.
"A customer came in and said, 'Hey, where's your dinosaur?' And we're like, 'Uhhh ,what?'" he said.
In the early morning hours on Nov. 5, the $8,000 dinosaur statue, which has been at the store for decades, was stolen.
"We just kind of estimated that was the date that it disappeared. We went through some camera footage and tried to pin point it as best we could, but it was pretty disappointing when we came in and found it gone," Black said.
He added he has no idea why the dinosaur was stolen. But he has gone through several different scenarios.
"Maybe someone took it cause they wanted it as a trophy, maybe it'll show up somewhere as a prank. Who knows. You know, it's one of those things that you can't hide very well — it's big."
Black said he hopes whoever the culprit is returns the 300 pound, 10-foot-long dinosaur.
"I would just love to have him back. He's expensive to replace, but it would be great if he would just show up, and we can just move on."
Black and his family have worked with the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, which has identified the owner of the truck that is believed to have stolen the iconic Sloanes dinosaur.
Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
