May 16 (UPI) — A bronze statue of first lady Melania Trump was stolen from its perch in a city in her home country of Slovenia, five years after it replaced a wooden sculpture damaged by arson.
Police confirmed Friday they are now investigating after the bronze statue went missing earlier in the week from the Slovenian village of Rozno.
“[Police] conducted an inspection of the crime scene and collected information. The investigating judge and the district state prosecutor were informed about the theft,” Slovenian National Police Force spokesperson Alenka Drenik Rangus said in a statement Friday.
The Slovenian newspaper Delo reported the statue was “sawed off” at the bottom.
Officials unveiled the bronze figure of the first lady in 2020 to replace a wooden statue that was damaged after being lit on fire on July 4 of that year.
The statue site is near the first lady’s hometown of Sevnica in central Slovenia.
Artist Brad Downey constructed the bronze version, based on the original wooden statue crafted by conceptual artist Ales Zupevc, aka Maxi.
The damaged wood statue was quickly removed to a museum in Slovenia.
Bronze was chosen for the replacement to ensure it was fireproof.
