Naked man steals $25,000 swan statue in Lakeland

LAKELAND (FOX 13) - A $25,000 swan statue has now been found after a naked man apparently stole it last Friday, prompting the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to turn to the public’s help finding it.

The 5-foot-tall, black-and-white checkered swan statue was sitting in the back of a truck at Lakeland Cold Storage when deputies say the suspect stole the truck -- and the statue along with it.

Surveillance video of the incident shows the naked suspect holding a bucket as he enters the property.

The suspect, later identified as Ronald Thompson, was arrested charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.  Deputies found the truck, but the swan statue was still missing, prompting the sheriff's office to ask the public for tips.

Friday morning, a Lakeland woman called deputies to say that her son had spotted the unusual swan sculpture while he was out fishing at a nearby pond yesterday.  He didn't realize it had been stolen until the family saw media coverage of the crime this morning.

The swan's owners will be cleared to pick it up after deputies process the scene.

"It doesn't appear to be damaged. We are happy it's being returned to its owners," a sheriff's office spokesperson added.