Pranksters blamed after dinosaur's disappearance

After being reported kidnapped over the weekend, Stanley the Dinosaur is safely back home.

On Sunday, reports came in that the unofficial mascot of the city parks and recreation department was spotted in Colonial Park on the north end of town.

How it traveled there from its last known location at the Community Canvas of Mountain Home in the downtown area remains a mystery. Mayor Rich Sykes believes the dinosaur, more accurately known as an apatosaurus, was abducted by a group of pranksters for reasons unknown.

The prehistoric statue had spent the past few weeks traveling around the Mountain Home area as part of an effort hosted by the city parks and recreation department and St. Luke's Elmore Medical Center to promote healthy living.

As part of this promotion, crews moved Stanley to different parks and other city landmarks on a regular basis with people invited to snap "selfies" with him at each location. Those who shared those photos on social media qualified for weekly drawings featuring an assortment of prizes. Clues regarding his whereabouts were posted online

Hoping to prevent various types of mischief, the parks and recreation team had bolted Stanley to a wooden picnic table before sending him on his citywide tour. However, those responsible apparently had tools to remove him from the table, Sykes said.

The mayor believes those responsible had to first drag Stanley off the table before loading it into the bed of a vehicle before driving off.

By Saturday afternoon, news of the dino's kidnapping flooded onto social media with people sharing the information with others. Those tips led to Stanley's discovery.

Parks and recreation officials noted that part of the statue's tail was broken with additional scratches noted on his surface.

For now, Stanley has returned to parks and recreation for what officials with the department called a needed "spa treatment."

Since the healthy living promotion had already ended, officials are considering whether he will return to his journey across town in coming months.