A scarecrow carefully crafted to look like Uncle Si Robertson from the hit show "Duck Dynasty" for a local Georgia contest was stolen and burned by a teen, the Cherokee Tribune reports, who was later arrested for theft.
The scarecrow took a group of parents of fourth graders at Ball Ground Elementary School a total of 40 hours to create, a popular entry in the area's first scarecrow contest sponsered by the PTA, according to FOX News.
The city offered up a $1,000 reward for information about the missing scarecrow, and soon afterwards, police were alerted to a resident's report of "Uncle Si" sitting on a neighboring porch, but by the time they arrived, the scarecrow had once again vanished from the scene.
"We discovered after a little investigation that a juvenile had taken it. I made contact with the juvenile who lives a little further away and he admitted to taking it," Ball Ground Police Chief Bryon Reeves told the Cherokee Tribune. "It was nothing but ashes [and] it was completely gone."
The 16-year-old who had stolen the scarecrow was reportedly scared after stealing it and burned it in his yard. When confronted by police, he admitted to taking it and was arrested for theft before later being released to his parents.
"He was just passing through downtown Ball Ground and thought Uncle Si was pretty cool and wanted him. [He] just didn't think about the consequences, and I am sure didn't think there would be so much publicity," City Manager Eric Wilmarth told the Tribune. "The young man has expressed remorse - he is sorry for what he did - it's just one of those things you can't back up and undo."
Doug Knott, the principal of Ball Ground Elementary School STEM Academy, told the Tribune that although the scarecrow will be greatly missed by the community, the school has decided to turn the incident into an opportunity to learn from the actions of the teen.
"As you can imagine, the students were very proud of their creation and the positive attention he had received from the community and strangers alike. While it is very disappointing to think that someone would take the scarecrow, I'm sure the individual did not take the time to think through these actions," Knott said. "Though initially the loss was hurtful to our students and our community, our students are very forgiving and ready to move this into a positive learning experience."
As for the parents who created the realistic Uncle Si scarecrow, fourth grade parent Allison Martin explained that he was meant to represent the Christian values of the community that Uncle Si and his "Duck Dynasty" family cherish.
"To begin with, we were kind of upset; the main reason we had done 'Duck Dynasty' was because of the background and their beliefs and we truly believe in them, and as a community we have to forgive," Martin said. "The kids got to pick what they wanted as their scarecrow, and that's what they wanted,. It was just so satisfying to hear, 'Oh my gosh, look at him, look at him!' And to hear all the kids talking about it. As moms...that's what you enjoy is hearing excitement from the kids."
Click here to see a photo of the beloved Uncle Si Robertson scarecrow that was stolen and burned by a Georgia teen.
