3 stolen dinosaur statues reportedly found during University of Texas fraternity house party

One statue taken from The Dinosaur Park may not be salvageable

Three dinosaur statues were stolen from The Dinosaur Park in Bastrop County. (The Dinosaur Park)

Well, that’s not something you typically see at a fraternity party.

Three dinosaur statues that were stolen from The Dinosaur Park in Bastrop County last week were found at a fraternity house at the University of Texas at Austin.

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Dimetrodon, Dilong and Minmi were originally stolen from their exhibit areas on Oct. 20, the park said in a Facebook post. The park also offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the prosecution of the people responsible.

Then on Saturday, someone attending a UT fraternity party spotted the trio and reported it to authorities, park officials told the Austin American-Statesman.

The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office and UT police department investigated the claim and returned the statues, which ranged from 6- to 10-feet long, to the park on Tuesday.

Both Dilong and Dimetrodon were badly damaged, the park said in a follow-up post.

“Dimetrodon needs major reconstruction and might not be salvageable. But, we’re happy to have them home and grateful for the support and kind words from all of you,” the park said.

The name of the fraternity involved has not been released.

Austin Nunez, who works for the park, told the newspaper that the tipster received the $1,000 reward and the park will beef up security. No cameras were recording the statues when the theft happened, Nunez said.

The incident is under investigation and charges could be filed.

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About the Author:

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.