The Fredericksburg area community has come together to offer a cash reward for the return of Adeline, one of the bronze otter statues that were installed throughout downtown earlier this year.
Adeline, a mother otter who sat at the intersection of William and Prince Edward streets near Hurkamp Park with her pup Millie, was stolen on Saturday night or early Sunday morning, said April Peterson, who owns River Rock Outfitters and was one of the originators of the Otter-ly Amazing Fredericksburg project.
“We discovered on Sunday that the mama otter named Adeline had been taken. We’re just trying to get the word out to have somebody return her,” Peterson said. “It’s so sad because Millie is still sitting there without her mama.”
Adeline’s theft was reported to the Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation Department on Sunday, Peterson said. Parks and Recreation notified the police department.
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On Tuesday, local radio station B101.5 announced that it would offer a cash reward of $101.50 for the safe return of Adeline to the station.
Local businesses such as Juan More Taco and North Star Towing and individuals—including artists Steven and Stuart Wegner, who cast the bronze otters—have been contributing to the cash reward, which was over $500 as of Tuesday morning.
“Anybody can return the otter to the radio station, no questions asked,” Peterson said.
The nonprofit initiative Fredericksburg Main Street and the City of Fredericksburg began raising funds for the Otter-ly Amazing project in November 2021, with the goal of installing bronze river otters in key locations throughout downtown to highlight the city’s connection to the Rappahannock River.
Otters are a crucial indicator of a river’s health and their presence is a sign of good water quality, according to the project’s website.
“Thanks to the cleanup efforts from local environmental organizations like Friends of the Rappahannock, otters have started returning to our river!” the website notes.
Adeline and Millie were donated by the Pine Knot Fund at the Community Foundation and Fredericksburg resident Melissa Colombo.
An anonymous donor established the Pine Knot Fund in 2019 with funds inherited from the donor’s grandmother, Adeline, for whom the otter sculpture is named.
Millie is named in honor of Millie Stroman, who Colombo calls “the matriarch of our Fall Hill neighborhood” and who passed away in 2020 at 101.
Peterson said the reaction to Adeline’s disappearance has shown her how much the community has embraced the otters.
“I knew how special this project was because I’ve been involved since the beginning,” she said. “What I wasn’t aware of was how special the otters are to the entire community.”
“Our message is, we don’t really care why she was taken. Nobody does,” Peterson continued. “Whoever has information on the otter can contact the police, anonymously, or if the person who stole it is paying attention, they can drop it off at B101.5 or the police station, absolutely no questions asked.”