Bronze thieves have struck in Bergeijk. Two statues were sawn off their plinth this weekend and taken away. It concerns Cat Dance and The Last Nun. There is great outrage in the village.
Devastated, Jack van Bommel shows the empty pedestal in his front yard. “It stood here, the statue of a nun. But it has disappeared, only the pedestal is still there.”
Jack came back from vacation on Sunday. Then the bronze statue, which was made when he bought the old monastery in Bergeijk, had disappeared. “I think it’s very bad. It kept me awake. There is quite a bit of emotion behind it, because it was specially made 32 years ago for the purchase of this property. A piece of history has been included.”
“Nowadays they leave nothing alone, nothing at all.”
The thieves probably only cared about the bronze, because they were not exactly gentle. Jack points out: “Look, the sharpening is still on the pedestal. You can clearly see that the statue has been ground in at the back at the legs. Then the statue has broken off to the front. If it was the thieves to do the statue, then they probably would have taken it with the pedestal.”
The thieves also struck in the center of the village. The Cat Dance statue was stolen here. Only the paws of the dancing cats are still there. And they attract a lot of attention. A lady says indignantly: “Nowadays they leave nothing alone, nothing at all.” A man who walks by also looks surprised at the bare plinth. “For a little money, unbelievable. It’s turning into a wrong world.” A woman adds: “And what are they supposed to do with it? Bunch of criminals!”
The municipality of Bergeijk initially doubted whether the statue had been stolen or removed for renovation. Now that it is clear that the theft is involved, the municipality will file a report.
“We hope that a reward will convince the thieves to bring the statue back.”
The thieves in Riethoven probably also made an attempt. Hans van de Steeg liked the statue he has in the front garden next to the pedestal. “When I went to get the newspaper at eight o’clock on Sunday morning, I saw it. But they didn’t pay attention because it is not bronze but bluestone. That is very heavy, so they left the statue.”
Jack also hopes to get his image back. That is why he is offering a reward of five hundred euros. “With that we hope to convince the thief or thieves to bring it back. Because the reward is double the material value they will get from the scrap yard.” And so Jack remains hopeful. “Although the chance is small, we are not giving up.”
