A Cretaceous caper: Bollinger County solves dinosaur theft

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Sometime over the summer, a dinosaur disappeared from the front of a bank in Marble Hill.

On Tuesday, the Bollinger County dinosaur larceny was solved.

The case involved an informant, a high school principal, the chamber of commerce and a police captain. It ended when a juvenile suspect admitted to his crime -- plucking the display from its rightful place and tossing it onto the porch of an abandoned house. The amused community is grateful the 5-foot T. rex display is ready to join his Cretaceous period friends for a Halloween display.

The caper began at People's Community Bank at some point over the summer.

"It has returned home. Hallelujah," said Kelsie Long, assistant manager at the bank, who spoke of the drama around occasional giggles.

The dinosaur is part of a three-dinosaur display used by the Bollinger County Area Chamber of Commerce to promote certain events. Long explained the T. rex was placed in front of the bank as part of a dinosaur hunt in July, an event organized to get people to visit area businesses and win prizes if they find the dinosaurs. Some time after the event concluded, the dinosaur disappeared from the bank's premises. The bank employees believed chamber members had retrieved the T. rex. Alas, the chamber people had not. This information was not discovered until just a few days ago. Thus began the quest to recover the decoration.

The people of Bollinger County are quite proud of their dinosaur status. The county is home to the Hypsibema missouriensis, the fossils of which were discovered in 1942 near Glen Allen. It was the first known discovery of dinosaur fossils in the state, and several digs have taken place in the area since the original discovery. The Hypsibema missouriensis dinosaur was classified as a duck-billed and dubbed the state dinosaur in 2004 by an act of the Missouri Legislature. While a dinosaur museum left Marble Hill and relocated to Ste. Genevieve County several years ago, the county is still fond of its connection to the extinct creatures.

Becky Trehy and her brother are the elbow grease behind the dinosaur displays. The original materials were largely provided by the chamber, but Trehy and her brother volunteered their time building the displays, which took a few weeks over various weekends. The displays are something unique to the Marble Hill community. The idea behind the dinosaurs is to give something for children to see and explore -- and get photos with -- when families visit Bollinger County to camp. Becky Trehy decorates the dinosaurs for different occasions, using mostly her own funds for the upkeep, which includes repainting them multiple times per year. The displays travel around the area, from park to park to convey different messages. For instance, during back-to-school times, the dinosaurs are bedazzled with signs wishing returning students a good school year, said Becky Wiginton, president of the Bollinger County Area Chamber of Commerce. At Christmastime, the dinos pull a sleigh. Last week, it was time for volunteer Becky Trehy to outfit the dinosaurs with Halloween costumes.

When it was discovered that neither the bank nor the chamber had possession of the T. rex, Becky Trehy "wasn't very happy". She figured it was probably just some kids pulling a prank. "Kids do silly things sometimes," she said.

Wiginton went to the Bollinger County Facebook page to post a "Missing" flyer.

"ALERT", the post said, the all-caps word set off by dinosaur emojis. "The Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce and the Bollinger County Building Local Prosperity's T-Rex has gone missing. He was last seen in front of People's Community Bank. If someone borrowed it, we will be happy to pick it up, or they can drop it off and let us know where."

Not long after that post went out, a message came to Wiginton's phone. An informant knew who had the dinosaur, or knew where it could be found.

The tip led to the name of a teenager. Wiginton reached out to the Woodland High School principal.

In the meantime, another post by the chamber: "We have a LEAD on the missing dinosaur. If the T-Rex is returned in good condition to Marble Hill City Hall before the morning of Wednesday, October 4, 2023 there will be no further action."

When the principal confronted the juvenile, the subject gave up the location of the T. rex.

Marble Hill Police Department Capt. Jerry Gilliam was called to help search the location where the T. rex was dumped. The T. rex was found on the porch of an abandoned house.

"It sounds like a juvenile dumped this dinosaur as a prank," Gilliam said. "Sort of maliciously. No one knew they did this. The principal at Woodland was able to extract the information and one of the students admitted to it."

The dinosaur was not harmed. No charges were filed.

"No harm, no foul," Becky Trehy said.

The dinosaurs are expected to be decorated for Halloween and displayed at Railroad Park as part of the community's fall festival.