$5,000 reward offered for information leading to return of stolen turtle sculpture

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help tracking down the person or people responsible for stealing a valued piece of local art.

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They’re offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on what happened to “Quilty,” one of 15 statues making up the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s “Turtle Trail.”

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The first turtles of the Turtle Trail were installed in 2018 as part of a project by the foundation.

Dedicated in 2019, “Quilty” was the sixth turtle sculpture in the series.

A deputy responded to the small park on Waterfront Park Road in Palm Coast on January 31 after the owners of the property called to report that the five-foot fiberglass turtle they’d purchased and donated was missing.

They explained they’d last seen the sculpture four days earlier.

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Quilty is described as tan in color with a white and blue quilt design on the shell. It measures about 4 feet by 5 feet and weighs approximately 60 pounds.

The sculpture is valued at around $8,000.

“Plenty of people have their eyes open wide for these thieves. They can’t hide in their shells forever,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staley said. “No matter how you paint this, this is a crime against the people of Flagler County.”

The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information on what happened to Quilty to call CrimeStoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-8477.

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In addition to the reward offered by CrimeStoppers, private donors have collected another $2,000 for information leading to the statue’s return.

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