The vandal(s) responsible for the Jan. 14-15 decapitation of a snow duck did not show at a Jan. 20 meeting to collect a $1000 ransom for the duck’s head.
“Nobody showed up at all,” Pete Cross said.
Cross, with his girlfriend, Michele Chase, sculpted the elaborate duck Jan. 12 at their New Harbor home. Between 11 p.m. Jan. 14 and 4:30 a.m. Jan. 15, someone removed the duck’s head, affixing a ransom note to the lifeless duck’s chest.
The vandal(s) agreed to return the duck’s head in exchange for $1000, to be paid at the Bristol Area Library at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20. Cross, in previous comments to The Lincoln County News, said he would go to the library but wouldn’t pay the ransom, predicting a no-show by the vandal(s).
“I still have no idea who did it,” Cross said Jan. 21. Cross reported the incident to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Brian Collamore, the investigating officer, did not return messages left Jan. 17 and Jan. 24.
Cross and Chase, meanwhile, are moving on. The couple rebuilt the duck’s head and made three ducklings nearby. Cross described the snow creatures as a “big, happy family.”