Another Bear Stolen in Boyertown

Another Boyertown bear was stolen from Gilbertsville Elementary School.

The bear statue, nicknamed by students “Gilbert”, was discovered missing from the main entrance of the school by a custodian Monday morning.

Gilbert is the second bear recently stolen in Boyertown, Pa. The first statue was snatched from the local YMCA a few weeks ago. The baby bear statue was a memorial for a 5-year-old girl who died in a car accident.

Officials believe the two bear burglaries are linked.

“I can’t see why they wouldn’t be correlated. I mean how often do ceramic bears go missing? Hopefully the people will come to their senses and tell us where to find it,” Douglass Township Detective Dirk Boughter said.

Many people in the community are stunned the statues are being targeted, as they are meant to celebrate and unite the town.

“I can’t imagine why someone would steal both bears unless they were trying to pull off some kind of prank,” Gilbertsville Elementary School principal Dr. Ronald Christman said. “The sad part is that the first stolen bear was a memorial statue and the second was our personalized bear that the students at the elementary school spent so much time decorating.”

Gilbert was much more than just a bear statue to everyone at Gilbertsville Elementary. “Gilbert had much personal value to us,” Christman explained. “Every child had a part within in it. They all fit into the design and that’s what made it so unique…It’s impossible to recreate what was done.”