STANWOOD – If you see a 25-foot-tall blue and yellow gorilla, call the Stanwood Police Department.
Somehow, a giant inflatable gorilla was stolen in the early evening last week from one of Stanwood’s most visible spots. Even the hiring of a night watchman did not thwart the theft.
The gorilla was working a two-week gig helping attract customers to a tent sale of hot tubs in the Viking Village mall parking lot at the corner of 88th Avenue NW and Highway 532.
The gorilla has had a rough time at Viking Village. Last year, vandals slashed its leg at the same annual hot tub sale, said Mike McDaniel, the gorilla’s owner.
McDaniel owns Air Play Rental, a Camano Island business that rents inflatable advertising characters. He rented the unnamed gorilla to All Seasons Spa and Stove, a downtown Stanwood hot tub business.
Circumstances conspired against the gorilla. High winds March 29 caused its handlers to deflate it but leave it tethered. That kept it safe from the storm but left it vulnerable to thieves, McDaniel said.
“If it’s fully inflated, it does take five or 10 minutes for it to fully drain out,” he said.
That’s a long time for a would-be thief to hang around, he said.
Deflated, all somebody had to do was cut its tethers and pull up in a truck big enough to stuff it in.
The thieves also lucked out that a night guard didn’t start work until 9 p.m. The last spa employee left at 6 p.m. By the time the night guard showed up, the gorilla was gone, according to the police report.
McDaniel said the gorilla will cost $5,000 to replace. He could lose another $1,500 in rental income by the time the new one arrives. McDaniel is offering a $500 reward for the gorilla’s return.
Judy Chapman, the saleswoman who coordinated the tent sale, said the gorilla helps draw business. The spa store is already planning on renting another giant inflatable.
“We’ll probably ask for some different type of tethering that would take a little longer to cut,” Chapman said.
In the meantime, the fact that the thieves took the gorilla’s inflating fan, too, leaves hope that it might be seen somewhere. If so, residents are encouraged to call the Stanwood Police Department at 360-629-4555.
“I could just see it – some party blows this sucker up,” Chapman said.
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
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