How does one go about stealing a 2,000-pound artifact from a museum?
If the Poquoson police know the answer, they haven’t shared it.
The good news, though, is that the one-ton artifact — a 19th-century anchor — has somehow been located not far from the Poquoson Museum, from where it was stolen. Nine months after it went missing, the anchor was found buried Thursday in someone’s back yard — to the surprise of the museum’s leadership.
“Quite frankly, we really didn’t think we would ever see it again,” said Paul Whitlow, the museum’s president. “It’s a tribute to the police department that they stuck with it and didn’t give up hope.”
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Poquoson police Capt. Kelly Waddell wrote in an email that charges are pending against a suspect in the case, whom Waddell would not identify until arrest warrants have been filed.
The Poquoson Police Department hasn’t said anything about how the anchor was stolen or how it was recovered.
It was one of about 25 anchors donated to the museum by a Hampton resident in 2003. It was the largest one in that group and was given to the museum for safekeeping and for the community to see, Whitlow said.
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While some of the anchors were painted and are on display at the museum, the stolen anchor was being kept in the back of the property.
Whitlow says he doesn’t know why — or how — it was taken.
“I can’t imagine somebody that’s living adjacent to the museum property — a resident of Poquoson — would steal from a nonprofit without any hesitation,” Whitlow said.
He said the anchor was found buried in a backyard near the museum. Poquoson police have not commented on how they found it.
“Some people may think an anchor is insignificant, but it’s not,” Whitlow said. “It’s a donated item to the city and the citizens of this town. We’re a small community and we take pride in our museum.”
After the anchor was returned to the museum Friday, a local cub scout troop donated their time to clean mud off it so it’s ready to be painted and mounted at the museum.
Jessica Nolte, 757-912-1675, jnolte@dailypress.com