ANDERSON, Ind. -- A 50-pound concrete bald eagle is missing from the yard of an Anderson Air Force veteran.
71-year-old Richard Whitaker and his wife were at church Sunday when someone stole the eagle statue from his front yard.
A neighbor told the couple about the theft when they returned home.
The eagle statue had stood watch outside Whitaker's home for ten years.
"I got no hard feelings toward him I just want my eagle back. I don't want no charges pressed against him who knows why after 10 years he felt the need that he had to have it. If I could buy one for him I would," said Whitaker.
Whitaker had a stroke six years ago and is wheelchair bound.
He says he's looked for replacement statues, but the ones he's found cost upwards for $275.
Whitaker is on a fixed income and has gallbladder surgery scheduled, so buying a new eagle statue isn't in his budget.
The Madison County Sheriff's Department says witnesses gave them little to go on in terms of a suspect description other than a white man possibly driving a white Honda sedan.
Deputies say they've looked on Craigslist, eBay and at local pawn shops but there's been no sign of the stolen eagle statue.
