Sometime during the weekend before Oct. 5, someone took a statue from the third floor of Trustee Hall at St. Edward’s University. The statue was carved by Brother Edwin Reggio, CSC, a longtime member of the St. Edward’s University community who died in April.

The statue, a dolphin carved out of driftwood, was displayed along with other pieces of art from Holy Cross brothers. Since the statue has been stolen, a note asking for its return has taken its place.

Dr. Tom Sechrest, the interim dean of the School of Management and Business, noticed the statue was gone on Oct. 5. He then filed a report with the University Police Department and created a note asking for its return. The note was then sent out stating that “in the spirit of forgiveness,” whomever took the statue could bring it back without any consequences.

“It has deep meaning to us, as a Holy Cross institution and because he gave it as a gift to us, and he’s not here anymore,” Sechrest said.

Reggio spent a total of 39 years at St. Edward’s. He was a teacher when there was still a high school on campus and was a member of the faculty. He later returned as the Events Coordinator and then as the Coordinator of Auxiliary Services.

There are currently no leads on who might have taken the statue or exactly when it was stolen. Trustee Hall is open for classes on weekends, including the weekend the statue was stolen. According to Sechrest, when there are no classes, only the first-floor computer lab is open, the elevators are turned off and the inside staircases are locked. To gain access to the second and third floor, you have to have an authorized swipe.

Sechrest said that there is no reward currently being offered for the return of the statue, but that he hopes it is returned because of its meaning to the community.

“It’s a violation of our community code, and it’s just not what we do here,” Sechrest said. “It kind of hurts in a lot of ways to think that somebody would come here and take something.”

UPD Captain Dan Beck said that there have been pranks on campus before, but they never involve taking property from the university.

Although the note says whoever took the statue could bring it back with no consequences, UPD said that if they find out who took it, there will be consequences.

Beck said that UPD works to develop all leads until the property is recovered.

“UPD’s goals are to recover the property, determine who the offender is, and if there’s sufficient evidence, make a case,” Beck said. “We’re not in the forgive and forget business. The courts are, but we aren’t.”

Beck said that it is difficult to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

“There’s lots of artwork around campus, and some of it is not replaceable,” Beck said. “This community values that art and it is difficult to display something like that so it’s available to the community and still have it secure.”

Since there were no security cameras in the lobby where the statue was displayed, there is no possible footage to tell who might have taken it. However, Sechrest said it’s not necessarily a call for tighter security.

“I don’t want this to become a place where there are security cameras everywhere,” said Sechrest. “I don’t want us to feel like we’re on lockdown either.”