Philly mascot's lost its head

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A Philadelphia tabloid newspaper is offering $1,000 reward to anyone who returns the head of the Phillies Phanatic, the baseball team mascot.

The Daily News announced Wednesday that it was offering the payout -- no questions asked -- if the thief who took the green head with its trumpet-like snout just gives it back.

"For five days now, a civic pall has hung over Philadelphia -- the result of a crime that many find impossible to fathom," the newspaper said. "Despite an all-out dragnet, the Phillie Phanatic's head is still missing, and so now the Daily News wants to help get it back."

The only condition is that the head be returned to the tabloid's downtown office.

"The Daily News is willing to accept the head and pay out the reward, no questions asked. Frankly, we wouldn't know what to ask anyway."

The head, worth about $3,000, went missing when the mascot took a breather during an event.