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Beloved chocolate bear statue found one year after theft

By Ben Hooper
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Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Police in Kansas announced they have recovered the locally-beloved Russell Stover Candies bear statue more than a year after it was stolen.

The Abilene Police Department announced in a Facebook post that the 150-pound, 4-foot-tall statue of a bear being covered in chocolate was recovered Wednesday after being stolen on the evening of Nov. 4, 2016, from outside the Russell Stover factory and candy store in Abilene.

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"This had become a running joke," Abilene Police Department Assistant Chief Jason Wilkins told the Wichita Eagle. "We followed several leads and it never worked out, so we are extremely pleased to return it."

Police said a deputy with Dickinson County Sheriff's Office received a tip Wednesday morning that led to the bear being discovered in a garage in Salina.

Investigators said the bear was found undamaged.

It was unclear whether any suspects had been identified in the theft.

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