Candler Park family's dinosaur sculpture stolen

ATLANTA - A family in Candler Park took to social media in the hopes that someone will return the large, metal dinosaur sculpture stolen from their yard over the weekend.

The dinosaur, named "Rusty" was part of the Halloween display in front of Becca Shepard and her family's home on Page Avenue.

"He gets moved around the yard at different times of the year.  He has worn a Santa hat.  He has been part of our Halloween decorations.  He's guarded our back door," explained Shepard. "He's been around for a long time."

The metal figure holds special meaning for the family because it was a homemade gift for Shepard's son, Eli Hill, for his sixth birthday.

"He just really loved seeing yard art in other people's yards and he really wanted something that was big and cool. So, my husband and his brother worked together," said Shepard. "We have other decorations we've made, but none were as special as Rusty and I think particularly because it was you know, this act of multiple people in the family working together. It was, you know, really taking a child's idea and vision and working to make that happen and it was a permanent fixture."

The family discovered the statue was missing Sunday morning.

"We're very sad and disappointed that you stole Rusty and that you should bring it back," said Eli, who is now 10 years old.

Shepard said she is optimistic that whoever stole Rusty will have a change of heart.

"My hope is that this was just something careless that someone did not understanding or appreciating that while it's cool [...] for us, it's actually something that's special," Shepard said.

Rusty is about three feet tall and four or five feet long with a missing rib bone.

Shepard said whoever took the sculpture can return it to the family's yard no questions asked.