Vandalization of statue sparks investigation, restoration fees

After a campus landmark was vandalized during Finals Week of Fall Semester, university officials are looking toward restoration.
 
The bronze statue, known as “Frog Baby,” was vandalized with gold spray paint during Finals Week.
 
Joan Todd, executive director of public relations, said restoring Frog Baby could cost up to $5,000.
 
“It is clearly a job for experts and can’t be done in house,” Todd said. “A professional will need to remove the paint to ensure preservation of the statue.”
 
It isn’t the first time Frog Baby was vandalized.
 
According to a Ball State news center release, four adults attempted to steal the statue in June 1999.
 
The suspects included three Ball State students and one Muncie woman.
 
Although they were not successful in stealing Frog Baby, they did remove four bronze frog statues and caused more than $10,000 in damages to the mountings and water pipes connected to the frogs.
 
The statues were later recovered by the University Police Department and reinstalled.

UPD has finished its investigation and will share its findings with Delaware County prosecutor Jeff Arnold.

Jim Lowe, director of Engineering and Construction Operations, said the university is still looking at options for repair, but they are in contact with a restoration company.

“It appears that [the statue] will have to be removed and sent to their facility to be restored,” Lowe said.