Stolen Palatine cow statue found in Hoffman Estates

A Palatine couple has been reunited with their cherished — now hornless — fiberglass cow, which was stolen from their front yard Thursday night.

The prized cow from the 1999 Chicago “Cows on Parade” art exhibit was given to Emily and Bruce Duncan by Emily's parents as a wedding gift and had been missing until Sunday afternoon when a Palatine police officer returned the damaged art piece.

“It's a common target close to the high school (Fremd),” Emily Duncan said. “It's a happy ending.”

The cow was returned after a Hoffman Estates man read the Daily Herald article about the crime and realized the stolen statue was in his neighbor's backyard.

The man in possession of the cow, who works as a landscaper, told his neighbor he found the damaged cow in a nearby field and decided to put it in his backyard as a joke.

“They saw the article in the paper, put two and two together and called the Hoffman Estates Police,” said Duncan's neighbor, Brad Mertel.

It's not clear who took the cow or when exactly it was stolen, but horn damage aside, the Duncans are happy to have it back and will continue to keep it out on display.

The gift, which is usually in the Duncan's backyard or inside, was on display on the front lawn last Sunday when their home on the 800 block of West Dorset was featured in the Palatine Historical Society's garden walk.

Emily Duncan speculated that Fremd High School students, whose nickname is the Vikings, may have been interested in the cow horns.

“We're close to a school, and we've caught a lot of kids trying to tip it at night, but never this,” she said.

Repairs on the cow are not under way, but Duncan is considering some creative options for the missing horns such as real cow horns she found on eBay or brass ones from India.

Hoffman Estates Police could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Ÿ Daily Herald staff writer Kimberly Pohl contributed to this report.