A National Park in California Has Become The Victim of a Bizarre Theft Problem

“Daa-sralh,” the term was printed in bold on a green laminated panel board that was tucked under the bottom mounting of a bronze sculpture of a giant salmon fish. It described how the park has succeeded in ensuring that previously endangered salmon are thriving in its creek beds after years of watershed restoration. The award-winning sculpture was perched along the Mill Creek Trail in the Grove of Titans in California’s Redwood National Park. Sadly, the fish sculpture is gone. So are various other sculptures that were equally prized by the local Tolowa community. A recent press release by Lost Coast Outpost reveals that the park has lately become victim to some of the most heinous thefts that have left the local community in “great pain.”

Redwood National and State Park is not just a national park. It’s a chasm of mystery where even echoes become muted, giant towering trees glare at you with their prehistoric eyes, and the entire forest disorients you with the rolling swirls of its fog. However, lately, the park itself seems to be suffering, thanks to a gang of suspicious humans who are desperate to plunder and loot its prized resources. The string of thefts is being unleashed upon the entire park, but most of them have been carried out in the park’s majestic Grove of the Titans, along its Mill Creek Trail, where giants like Chesty Puller and Lost Monarch stand.

Investigators working on the case reported finding no clues whatsoever that could indicate the identity or location of the suspects. An Instagrammer quipped that the thieves seem to be “homeless copper hunters” who have made their way to redwood forests out of need and greed. Among all the thefts documented in the park’s crime books, two of the most heartbreaking ones are those of the 20-inch bronze sculpture of a dugout canoe and the other of the aforementioned salmon fish sculpture. Both sculptures were created by the local Tolowa community, inspired by the treasured history and ancestry of the park. The park officials are doing their best to uncover the suspects and solve the mystery.

The theft first came to attention in January this year when officials noticed that things were going missing from the northern segments of the Redwoods park. What puzzled the detectives was the fact that the criminals had even stashed away some of the most unexpected, seemingly ordinary items from the park’s premises. Shower drains, for instance. Apart from bronze sculptures and shower drains, the park is missing “war veteran memorial plaques, donor recognition plaques, and metal art objects.” With the government shutdown lingering in a stalemate, the situation has become worse. The ongoing shortage of federal funds and staffing is making it even more challenging to protect the prized possessions of the park from these undetected suspects.

Karla Jovel, a California State Parks interpreter with the North Coast Redwood District, told SFGATE that this is not the first time the park has become a victim of looters. With nearly half of the world’s redwoods nestling inside this park, it has always posed a delicious temptation to those who conspire to make money by selling the wood. Detectives have been actively hunting the shadowy and black markets where burl poachers sell the wood stripped from these old-growth forest trees. Is the case closed? No. However, the park has urged the public to keep an eye on the suspects. Investigators believe that they will likely approach various metal recycling locations or resale locations to sell the loot.

If you happen to be in the vicinity of these locations and spot any resold items, immediately report to Ranger Greg McKisson at (707) 498-4362 or anonymously at (707) 465-7353. As for now, the park is operating as normal despite the stolen items, Jovel confirmed. Meanwhile, officials are attempting to raise funds, approximately $25,000, to reconstruct the items with less valuable materials and additional theft deterrent features, per The Travel. The entire theft episode has, in a way, jolted the Redwoods park into a little session of self-reflection. Art is just as important as life itself, the episode teaches us.