ISLE OF WIGHT, Va., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in Isle of Wight, Va., said a replica Civil War cannon and a historic sign have been stolen from a park dedicated to the conflict.

Isle of Wight County sheriff's 1st Sgt. Paul Phelps said deputies responding to Aug. 19 reports of vandalism at Fort Huger park discovered the cannon and sign missing the next morning, the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press reported Wednesday.

Phelps said investigators currently have no witnesses or leads in the case and authorities are baffled as to how the cannon, which was displayed on three pedestals behind a low brick wall, was removed from the site.

He said deputies are attempting to determine whether the theft of the cannon, which is owned by development company Lawnes Point on the James, was a prank, a history fan's attempt to obtain the piece for a collection or aimed at selling the item as scrap metal.

Grandma fights $10,500 cell phone bill

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A North Carolina retiree says she's been battling her phone company since 2006 over a $10,500 bill for calls to an adult chat line she claims she never used.

Opal Savage of Charlotte said the majority of her $10,539.72 Verizon Wireless bill came from six weeks worth of calls to chat line Secret Encounters and she is refusing to pay the bill because she claims she is not responsible for them, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.

Savage said she believes her number was stolen by someone who used it to make the calls. She said she faults Verizon for failing to notify her when her bill, which is usually about $250, soared into the thousands and topped $10,000.

The grandmother said her two grandsons, ages 13 and 17, could not have made the calls without her knowledge. Both have signed sworn affidavits denying they made the calls during the six-week period in 2006.

Savage said she is taking her case into the legal arena and filed a police report related to the bill last week.

Residents: Beagle stealing shoes

WAVELAND, Ind., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- People in Waveland, Ind., say a string of bizarre shoe thefts are being blamed on a beagle believed to be taking the shoes to a local fire station.

Angie Jeffers said one of her son's shoes disappeared after being left outside overnight and soon turned up near the firehouse, WLFI-TV in Lafayette, Ind., reported Wednesday.

Locals said shoes began arriving at the fire department in June and since then only Jeffers and one other person have reported seeing the thief -- a small beagle.

"He's a little beagle dog," said Jeffers. "He was laying there in the sun on the ramp, where the firetrucks come out, with a shoe beside him."

Acting town marshal Rob Kiger said he also spotted the beagle, who is believed to be a stray, carrying a tennis shoe in his mouth and another curious item on his head.

"The shoe bandit beagle came out of the alley and down this street, with a pair of women's underwear on his head," said Kiger. "He turned down the street and headed for the fire department."

Officials said the dog, who takes only one shoe at a time and never leaves any bite marks on the items, has proven difficult to capture.

"Can't catch him," Kiger said. "A lot of people have tried. But nobody can catch him."

Police: Taking fountain coins not illegal

NEW YORK, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Police in New York said taking change from a fountain in front of City Hall is not illegal after a man was spotted mining the fountain for coins.

Witnesses reported a man taking nickels, dimes and quarters that had been thrown into the fountain as a traditional gesture of good luck or wish-making, but police said the practice of taking coins from the fountain is not against the law, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

"Unless there are other varying factors, like public drunkenness, then no (it's not a crime)," a police source said.

The practice is, however, unusual, said Gene Nervina, 73, whose company handles the plumbing for the fountain.

"I've never seen it happen. I find it really odd," Nervina said.