SAN JOSE – The search is on for a bronze statue that was cut down and stolen last week in San Jose.
Employees with the San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services reported the theft of the Momotaro statue on Oct. 15, according to the San Jose Police Department.
Located near the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, the statue was a gift from Okayama, San Jose’s sister city in Japan, and is a “beloved part of our community,” the San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs said in a social media post Tuesday.
Pictures of the statue show a figure flanked by a dog and a monkey.
A detective has been assigned to the case, a police spokesperson said, adding “the investigation is active and ongoing.”
“At this time, we do not have any additional updates to provide,” the spokesperson said.
This is not the first time public art has been pilfered in San Jose. In 2023, a statue of a warrior riding a horse that symbolizes the sister city relationship between San Jose and Pune, India, was swiped from Guadalupe River Park. The piece was later discovered – mostly intact – by this news organization at a metal scrap yard north of downtown.
And in 2024, a 600-pound-plus sculpture worth $100,000 was plucked from the parking lot of an art studio near San Jose Mineta International Airport. A suspect was arrested, but not before the artwork was chopped up and sold to a different metal scrap yard.
Anyone with information about the recent theft or the statue’s whereabouts can call the police department’s non-emergency line at 408-277-8900 and reference case no. 25-288-0623.
Check back for updates.