‘This is just a small thing,
but this meant a lot to the citizens of Merced.’— Police Chief Steven Stanfield
Officers of the Merced Police Department surprised city leaders, department heads and local residents when they walked into the Merced City Council meeting on Monday night and unveiled the Merced Zoo bear sign that was stolen back in February.
“I’m here today to confess that I have been keeping a secret from all of you,” Police Chief Steven Stanfield told city leaders. “I feel bad about it, but I’ll get over it real quickly. For the last week and a half, we have kept a secret from the department, from you City Council, from you city manager, and from you, my friend, the director of Parks and Rec.
“Through good old fashioned detective work, investigative leads and the use of a confidential informant, we were able to recover your Applegate Zoo Bear. It is in perfect shape.
“I want to acknowledge Sgt. Lupian, obviously Detective Crane, Arias, Villareal, Shaw, Aponte, and the lead detective on this case which was Detective Dabney.
“We are so proud of their hard work and effort to recover this. They served a search warrant last week. They recovered this bear in excellent shape, proudly hanging on a suspect’s wall. We also may — or may not — have found a Welcome to Merced sign which we would be happy to return when we are done with it as well.”
Parks and Recreation director Christopher Jensen, who was in attendance, said he was totally surprised by the news, and thanked the MPD for a job well done.
The theft is considered an ongoing investigation with a person of interest identified, but no arrests have been made, according to police.
There was a strong community reaction after the new sign was discovered stolen from an outside wall of the zoo building. It had just been placed there as part of a grant-funded effort to update and redefine the zoo as a regional wildlife rescue and education center. Council members Sarah Boyle and Mike Harris offered up cash rewards for the return of the sign while new security cameras were added to the area surrounding the zoo.
Eventual donations made it possible to purchase a new sign at a cost of about $4,000. Now city officials have two impressive bear signs on their hands. They are reportedly contemplating the idea of placing one of the signs in the zoo gift shop.
On Monday night, the MPD detectives on the case each received a coveted Commander’s Coin in honor of their work.
Said Chief Stanfield, “This is just a small thing, but this meant a lot to the citizens of Merced. … We are so proud to return it.”