Historic cemetery statue stolen

Norwich, Conn. (WTNH) - Police are following leads into the case of a stolen statue in Norwich.

It's value is both sentimental and historic. A classic example of Victorian funerary art.

"[It] depicts a woman apparently in mourning with her robes around her," said Norwich City Historian David Plummer.

Plummer says the bronze statue, marking the 1881 gravesite of Sarah Osgood, was a highlighted piece in an effort to get the Yantic Cemetery on the historic registry.

Osgood's husband, Charles, made his money in pharmaceuticals. He was a Norwich mayor and one of the founders of Norwich Free Academy. The statue, which was recently stolen, may now be valued at more than $100,000.

"If it in fact it turned out to be, by a well-known nationally famous sculpture, that wouldn't be surprising," said Plummer.

Police say the statue may have been stolen for its artistic value or its scrap metal value. They have seen a lot of other thefts like that around the city.

"Our fear is that someone would have taken it to a scrap yard for the value of the metal and it would be lost for good," Plummer said. "I would feel horrible; really horrible."

One thing is for certain: the city just wants the statue back.