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Man finds lion statue, didn't know it was stolen

Posted at 6:12 PM, May 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-02 23:45:21-04

UPDATE: The golden lion has been recovered. Paul "Nighthawk" Ames spotted it while on the job near Lindell Road and Mesa Verde Lane. 

"There it was, you know, sunlight gleaming off of it, giant gold statue lion and I thought I came up so I put it on my truck," said Ames of finding the statue.
 
He had no idea what it was or that anyone was looking for it.
 
"I was thinking this is awesome, my wife is going to hate me but I'm going to have a giant gold lion statue next to my pool now," explained Ames of what he planned to do with the statue.
 
Then a coworker told him it was stolen from an art installation at Decatur Boulevard and Flamingo Road.
 
"Disappointment, I was looking forward to keeping it, it was awesome," said Ames of how he felt when he realized he had to turn in the lion to police.
 
The future of the installation is still up in the air. Erik Pappa with Clark County said the head of the public art project and the artist who created the lion will decide what happens with it next.
 
Las Vegas police is still searching for the person or people responsible for vandalizing the art installation, which also includes alligators, and stealing the lion.

ORIGINAL STORY

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- A thief is being sought after a recently installed piece of art was stolen from the median.

According to Clark County's Twitter Sunday, the golden lion at Decatur Boulevard and Flamingo Road was stolen while the small pink alligators that surround it were vandalized.

Clark County officials said they'll file a police report.

No other details have been released.