Nearly a decade ago, a robotic clown mysteriously disappeared from Joyland park in Wichita, Kan. On Tuesday, police recovered the missing clown animatronic, named Louie, at a sex offender's home in Wichita.
Louie was a beloved attraction at Joyland, where he played the organ up until 2005 when the park closed and he disappeared. The sex offender, 39-year-old Damian Mayes, had reportedly been an organ repairman at the amusement park around the time Louie the robot clown was taken, KSN reported.
Mayes is currently in prison after being convicted of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy in 2010.
"Obviously, you see someone sitting next to me who is known as an icon in the city of Wichita," Detective Matt Lang told the Wichita Eagle at a press conference while Louie the robotic clown sat close by. "There was a lot of social media interest that kind of led and kept this case alive."
"After some investigation, went to a residence and was able to obtain a permission from that individual and located Louie inside the residence. We then obtained a search warrant to recover Louie and here he sits today."
Locals are also happy to have Louie back.
"Like Lazarus rising from the dead, we have Louie the Clown recovered," Greg Kite, president of the Historic Preservation Alliance of Wichita and Sedgwick County, told the Eagle. "We have been working on this for months, accumulating information, photographs and statements."
"Louie at the organ is what all children remember. He was intriguing–a little scary looking at his face–You always had opposing feelings of excitement and a little fear."