Detectives have recovered one of the Memorial Gates, stolen from the Washington Park Arboretum last week. The bronze ornamental gates, designed by sculptor George Tsutakawa, have been at the Arboretum since 1976.
On March 19th, staff at the Arboretum reported that sometime overnight, unknown suspects had stolen the large bronze gates that mark the entrance to the Graham Visitor Center. The gates measure approximately 20 feet long. Also reported missing were several sections of copper downspouts from the visitor center building.
The case was assigned to a detective, who discovered that two suspects had attempted to sell scrap brass from the stolen gate and downspouts at a local recycling business. The business refused to buy from the suspects.
Detectives obtained physical descriptions of the two suspects, as well as a description of the vehicle the suspects were driving, from the business’s employees.
On Thursday, detectives located a person of interest in the case and brought him to the East Precinct for an interview. The person provided information that led detectives to the location where the gate was recovered. This morning Seattle Parks staff met with the detective and took possession of the gate.
Unfortunately, one of the gates was destroyed by the suspects, who attempted to cut it down for scrap. The other gate remained mostly intact.
Detectives are still attempting to locate an additional suspect in the case. This remains an active and on-going investigation.
