700-pound bronze pelican is stolen from a city park

Weighing in at 700 pounds, the bronze pelican didn't just fly away from its perch in a city park in the small Bay Area town of Novato.

But the apparent theft has left city officials puzzled about exactly how the 9-foot-tall statue, with a 10-foot wingspan, was pilfered.

Now, Novato police are offering a $1,000 reward to help locate the statue called Omay, the Miwok word for pelican, the Marin Independent Journal reported Sunday.

The Novato City Council commissioned the statue in 2007 for $27,500. Its creator, Idaho artist David Clemons, installed the work only about a year ago.

"My heart sank when I read what had happened," Novato Mayor Madeline Kellner told the Independent Journal.

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-- Rick Rojas