This is real fowl play, folks.
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Someone somehow managed to successfully steal a 1,000-pound concrete chicken statue from a farm in Alexander County, N.C. The Alexander County Sheriff's Department reported the almost four-foot, half-ton piece of poultry is worth $1,100.
The thief stole the chicken between the evening of Feb. 12 and the morning of Feb. 13. The base of the chicken didn't make it too far and was quickly recovered, but the rest of the bird is still missing. "The chicken still flew the coop," said Tod Jones, chief deputy of the Alexander County Sheriff's Office.
According to Jones, anyone who either discovers or returns the chicken to its home on a poultry farm off of All Healing Springs Road will be rewarded with a sum of anywhere between $100-$1000.
So how did the chicken cross the road?
An investigation led police to the home of Andrew Justice of nearby Taylorsville. Sheriffs found evidence at the scene that a tractor helped in the theft of the big bird. They also received reports of a tractor on the road near the poultry farm the day of the chicken disappearance.
Officers then found suspicious white paint in the forks of Justice's tractor. Justice has been charged with felony larceny, misdemeanor injury to personal property for damage to the state roadway and also reckless driving to endanger.
Understandably, even statue owner Pete Gilleland is surprised at the feat. "The statue is very difficult to move," he told NPR. Gilleland gifted his wife the prominent poultry statue several years ago as a birthday gift.
