James Haire

The sculpture of a little girl on a swing that was twisted off its stand in Soroptimist Park last week and stolen was found about 36 hours later near the Stockyard Café in northeast Bozeman, Bozeman police reported Saturday.

The bronze statue, entitled "Twist in Time,” and worth an estimated $7,500, was sculpted by James Haire, of Fort Collins, Colo., who had loaned it to the city for a year.

It was first reported missing from the park, at East Main Street and Rouse Avenue, Thursday morning. A city official said at the time it appeared someone had "just kind of rocked it back and forth” until it broke off at the right ankle.

It was found a few miles away, near the café on East Griffin Drive, at about 5 p.m. Friday, according to Bozeman police.

published on Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:18 PM MST

A thief has made off with the bronze statue of a little girl on a swing that stood in Soroptomist Park, leaving the statue’s foot behind.

"They basically just kind of rocked it back and forth until the friction cut the ankle," Brit Fontenot, assistant to the Bozeman city manager, said Thursday. "It’s missing the right foot."

The 4-foot-tall sculpture, called "Twist in Time," was reported stolen Thursday morning to the Bozeman Police Department. It was created by James Haire, of Fort Collins, Colo., and is worth an estimated $7,500.

"Twist in Time" was one of 19 sculptures erected downtown last summer as part of the Gallatin Art Crossing project, aimed at making sculpture more accessible to the public. Haire loaned "Twist in Time" to the project for one year to display at the park on the southwest corner of Rouse Avenue and Main Street.

The theft marks the second time a Gallatin Art Crossing sculpture has been tampered with, said Tate Chamberlin, a committee member for the project.

Not long after the "Fish Spiral" sculpture was installed outside City Hall, two blocks from Soroptimist Park at North Rouse and East Lamme Street, vandals tore it from its metal footing and tossed it into the nearby Bozeman Creek.

Chamberlin said the fish sculpture was recovered and is scheduled to be put back up in the spring.

He asked anyone with information about the whereabouts of "Twist in Time" to call him at 970-579-1256.