Lorax statue stolen, it was

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Authorities were on the lookout today for the crooks
behind the Grinch-worthy theft of a 2-foot-tall bronze “Lorax” statue from
the oceanfront La Jolla home of Dr. Seuss' 90-year-old widow.

Audrey Geisel and a groundskeeper discovered the 300-pound piece of
custom artwork missing from the garden of the Encelia Drive estate on Monday
morning, according to San Diego police.

The portly, bushy-mustached figurine — based on the title character of
an environmental-themed 1971 children's book by Theodor Geisel, who used the
pen name Dr. Seuss — was last seen in its rightful post on Saturday afternoon,
SDPD public-affairs Lt. Andra Brown said.

Drag marks on the ground showed the route by which the Lorax-nappers
dragged the statue to a street, according to Brown. Nothing else was believed
to have been stolen during the heist, the lieutenant said.

The piece, one of two commissioned by the author's stepdaughter, is
valued at $10,000.

Theodor Geisel died in 1991 at age 87.