Sad sign of the times in Park City?

Many large Park City homes are adorned with larger than life animal sculptures, most often representing of moose or elk in various materials and styles.

Our favorite one, though, until recently, was that cute bear sipping coffee from a mug, sitting on a big rock and glancing at the nearby mountains. It had been there for almost a decade, minding his own business.

This whimsical creature, named Oliver, and weighing some 70 lbs (pres de 32 kilos) was unbolted and stolen during the night of Monday, October 1.

Judy Epstein, his owner, evidently mortified, was reminiscing that passer-by enjoyed seeing him, to the point she said in a radio interview: "Almost every Christmas, unbeknownst to us who it is, somebody always leaves a pound of coffee right by his cup. We don’t know who does it but somebody every Christmas leaves him coffee...”

Ms. Esptein is pleading with the thief to return her bear back; how could one re-sell such a unique piece?

Up until now these things never happened in Park City, a town where you can leave your skis or your bike outside your home and not worry too much about them being stolen.

This seems to be changing now and it's very sad.