Some Grinch has made off with Dr. Seuss' very own Lorax: Thieves apparently stole a two-foot, 300-pound bronze statue of the creature from the garden of Theodore Geisel's 90-year-old widow over the weekend, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. "It’s a valuable piece because there are only two of them, and it’s an iconic figure," says the property manager of Audrey Geisel's La Jolla estate, who noticed the statue missing Monday morning. "You can't sell it on eBay," he warns. "If you return it, we won’t press any charges."
The statue was one of two made by Audrey Geisel's sculptor daughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, who made one for the family and one for Theodore Geisel's memorial in his Massachusetts hometown. "I want very badly to get our little Lorax back home where he belongs," says Dimond-Cates. "Wherever he is, he’s scared, lonely, and hungry. He’s not just a hunk of metal to us. He was a family pet." Her big fear? "I hope he hasn’t been taken across the border into Tijuana for scrap." (More The Lorax stories.)