University seeks return of stolen sundial

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 2 (UPI) -- The University of Michigan is asking for help in locating a sundial broken off and stolen from outside its engineering department building, officials said.

The Ann Arbor school is offering a $200 reward for information leading to the recovery of the 3-foot, 50-pound bronze sundial taken from in front of the university's College of Engineering between April 13 and April 15, the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday.

"They broke the bolts off," Diane Brown, a police spokeswoman, said.

"It could potentially (be) sold for scrap, but there's not much metal there. We're thinking maybe it's being displayed as a trophy someplace," she said.

The sundial's value is more sentimental than monetary, Brown said.

It was donated to the Wave Field courtyard outside the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building by Albina du Boisrouvray, the mother of the building's namesake, the Free Press reported.

Du Boisrouvray also established several engineering scholarships in memory of her son, a humanitarian and helicopter pilot who died in 1986 at age 24 on a helicopter rescue mission in Mali, the newspaper said.

Anonymous tips can be provided to the university's tip line at 800-863-1355 or with university police at 734-763-1131.