A 600-pound statue of a Tuskegee Airman has been snatched in the middle of the night from a Detroit Park.
The statue honors the late Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson, who flew 18 missions in World War Two as a Tuskegee Airman.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military pilots in the US and Jefferson was one of the first few to escort bombers in the war.
According to the National Air and Space Museum, Jefferson was held captive as a prisoner of war in Poland for nine months before eventually returning to Detroit where he worked as a school teacher. He died in 2022 at the age of 100.
In June, a life-sized statue was erected in his memory in Rouge Park, near Joy and Spinoza – a treasured location where Jefferson reportedly flew model airplanes later on in life, said city officials.
But, on Tuesday night, the statue was snatched.
Local residents reported seeing the statue in its rightful place on Tuesday but noticed it missing the following day, WXYZ reported.
Detroit police said it received calls reporting the structure missing on Wednesday evening.
Detroit Police Deputy Chief Franklin Hayes told WXYZ: “If a 600 pound statue shows up, I advise you to call the Detroit Police Department and not to pay and not to take it.
“The impact of what they did cuts deeper than what they did here on this site. The history, the legacy of the Red Tails, of the Tuskegee Airmen, to his family, to those that honorably served with him and serve today. To disgrace that — you are an absolute coward.”
Eric Palmer of the Tuskegee Airmen Detroit chapter told the local outlet: “It’s a serious slap in the face to a lot of people involved. It’s baffling. It’s seriously baffling.”
DPD Rewards TV is now offering a $5,000 cash reward for the statue’s return.
Anyone with information about the missing statue is urged to contact Detroit Police.
