There's an elephant missing in Garland.
The Darnell family doesn't think "Bon Bon Babar," as the family calls him, walked off by himself. After all, he's just a 400-pound bronze statue.
"It was hard to wrap my head around that someone would take him; he was so big," said Beverly Darnell.
The Darnells' statue sat in the front yard of their Garland home, chained to the porch. Now the family is offering a $500 reward to anyone who can help them solve their pachyderm problem.
"I've been checking with neighbors, do they have peanuts on them? And did they lure my elephant away?" chuckled Gene Darnell.
The Darnells are trying to make light of the situation even though the statue was a present Beverly gave to her husband for their home after Gene Darnell said he had admired a similar statue for a long time.
"Gene doesn't get excited about a lot of things, and he doesn't ask for much and I wanted to get this for him," said Beverly Darnell.
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"Bon Bon Babar" went missing last Friday and the Darnells said whoever took him was bold enough to do it in broad daylight while Beverly Darnell was home. Beverly Darnell couldn't track down the thieves.
"You save and save for something and you do the things you're supposed to," she said. "And somebody can just come and take it all away from you."
Babar had become so popular in the neighborhood, some neighbors dropped by to see if the elephant had made his way back home while NBC 5 spoke to the Darnells. Others were just upset.
"Why would you want a bronze statue the size of a baby elephant? Melt it down? If you need money, go ask somebody," said Kathy Jackman, who's known the Darnells for seven years.
The Darnells are offering the $500 reward because they have no hard feelings.
"I'm not looking to revenge or retaliation or anything like that," said Gene Darnell. "We want to get the elephant back."
Anyone with information about the missing elephant statue should call Garland police or the Darnells at 214-884-7307.
