Purdue University's pencil sculpture recovered undamaged

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Purdue University says a 12-foot-tall, 200-pound sculpture of a pencil has been recovered undamaged.

The pencil sculpture was reported missing Monday from the West Lafayette campus' Pickett Park, but is believed to have been missing since Nov. 11.

It's made of cedar, weighs about 200 pounds and is valued at about $9,000.

The pencil turned up Thursday morning on the lawn at Slayter Center. A passerby who spotted it called university police.

A Purdue University news release says the pencil was taken to the university's carpentry shop to be prepared for reinstallation in Pickett Park.

The pencil sculpture was originally placed outside of Beering Hall near Purdue's Loeb Fountain in 2010 but was moved to Pickett Park during the current fall semester