Published: October 24, 2006 09:17 am      

Landmark recovered

The Colonel’s been found.

But he’ll probably never be the same again.

“I got a message this morning that we were getting the colonel back,” McAlester KFC owner Debbie Ashmore said. “At first I was extremely excited to get him back. But that was before I knew his head was gone. It was pretty disheartening to see his head gone.”

The wooden sculpture of Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, was found around 10 a.m. Monday in a ditch “in a remote area west of McAlester,” according to Pittsburg County Undersheriff Richard Sexton.

It was stolen from the KFC restaurant at 709 S. George Nigh Expwy. in early June. The sculpture measured more than six feet in height and is estimated to be worth approximately $3,000, according to a report by the McAlester Police Department.

“A person who was doing some hunting actually came across the statue,” Sexton said. “Then the property owner called us. We called the McAlester Police Department because it’s really their case, we just agreed to pick it up from the property owner and then drop it off.”

The Colonel was already missing a major portion of his left arm, probably due to children swinging on it. Now he has been decapitated, leaving nothing but a splintered neck.

“He was carved from one piece of wood, so I don’t think there’s really anything we can do about it,” Ashmore said. “I’ll just have to call the artist and find out.”

The sculpture was created more than three years ago from a maple tree that stood on the KFC property. Chainsaw sculptor Clayton Coss was commissioned to mold the tree into the image of Colonel Sanders. Coss actually sculpted the tree on site at KFC.

The statue had never been targeted by vandals.

“Everybody loved the Colonel, families would always stop to take their pictures with him,” Ashmore said. “I’m extremely disappointed that whoever took him would do this. It’s a very unique piece of artwork. I thought there would be damage, but I’d hoped it wouldn’t be this bad.”

KFC is currently closed for remodeling. It’s due to reopen sometime next weekend. Ashmore had hoped the Colonel could be there for the reopening.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

“I wish we could’ve put him back when we reopen,” Ashmore said. “It would have been nice. I don’t know why anyone would do this.”