eaglesculpture1
The Eagle sculpture at Eagle Landing Park – carved by Galen Willis-Eagle – has been stolen, according to Michael Lafreniere, Executive Director of Burien Parks.
The wooden carving, made from Western Red Cedar, was installed at the park on Oct. 24, 2011 (read our previous coverage here). It stands 44 inches tall, and was mounted on a pedestal and housed in a shelter constructed by Eagle Scout candidate Sean Kent as project to complete his Eagle Scout requirements.
“I looked at the base structure this a.m., and someone has stolen it,” Galen told David Templeton, who first noticed that it was missing. “I’ll report it to the City of Burien for their action. Thanks. I’m heart broken.”
“Donated by Burien artist Galen Willis, the hand-carved wooden sculpture of an eagle was carved from Western Red Cedar (Thuja Plicata) an evergreen coniferous tree in the Cypress family that is native to western North America,” reads a note on the park’s website. “The western Red Cedar is the provincial tree of British Columbia, and has extensive applications for the indigenous First Nations of the Pacific Northwest.”
Here’s more on the artwork:

Mr. Willis created the sculpture for the purpose of placing it in the park. The carving style of the eagle is referred to as Northwest Coast Native Style, and is partially painted red and black. The eagle carving is itself over 44 inches tall and is mounted on a pedestal.
As part of the project, volunteer Eagle Scout Sean Kent constructed a shelter to house and display the carving.
Eagle Landing Park was established in 2005. It is a six acre park containing many native plants, mammals and birds including a metal staircase which winds its way down a steep slope to Puget Sound. Eagle have nested and rested in the old-growth conifer forest of the park since 1991.

Eagle Landing Park is located at 14641 25th Ave SW.
Police are asking for the public’s help – if you have any information, you are asked to please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311 .]]>

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9 replies on “STOLEN: Eagle carving at Eagle Landing Park has gone missing”

  1. When?
    Last night at approximately 6:15 I was jogging past the park entrance and heard voices and saw two cars and one pick-up truck down in the parking area. All had their lights on. One car was parked inside the gated area, one was parked about where the gate is and the pick-up was parked nose out close to the gate of the private residence. It sounded like all of the engines were running, all had their headlights on. The pick-up appeared to be mid-sized, the other two appeared to be sedans. I couldn’t see any colors unfortunately because of the combination of dark and the headlamps of the pick-up. Heard at least three male voices, not young, but not old either – they were laughing and talking but I couldn’t make out any specific words. Thought it was odd since it was well after the time closing time for the park and 23 degrees. But given the darkness and the fact that I was out alone, I didn’t investigate.

    1. To Katherine :
      You used perfectly good sense in not interfering.
      There’s no explanation for how low down, stupid people can go. Hope some one with good sense will identify the statue and see that it is returned.

      1. If its any help, the cops have told me, if you’re in doubt, call us anyway.
        Even having patrol cars drive up and down the roads now and then helps reduce risk.
        Good call in not interfering though- they were probably high or drunk too.

          1. Why do some people feel the need to disparage the city of Burien every time something bad happens? There is a disclaimer at the bottom of City-data.com that states that it “does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of any information on this site. Use at your own risk.” It’s an advertising site: “Some parts © 2014 Advameg, Inc.”

      2. It just struck me as odd, given the time of day and the fact that one of the vehicles was inside of the gated parking area. But I just kind of assumed that someone had gotten their car locked in because they were having too much fun on the stairs…It’s happened in the past.
        Unfortunately, I couldn’t see much from the road, so other than time and the number of vehicles I don’t have much to offer.
        Steve, I did.
        Hopefully, B-town will get lucky like West Seattle did when they had on of their poles stolen in 2010. http://westseattleblog.com/2010/05/checking-on-west-seattles-stolen-totem-pole-five-months-later/
        K

        1. Ian,
          They didn’t sound high or drunk, but they did sound pretty pleased with themselves and they weren’t acting particularly stealthy. But the one stolen in West Seattle was taken in broad daylight in the middle of the week. My understanding, from a co-worker who is a collector, works of this type, even by non-native artists are highly collectable and can go for a fair penny. Hopefully they aren’t some “12” man fans that just wanted it for their collection of Seahawk ephemera…
          K

  2. Unfortunately, this is not surprising to me. I recently walked down to the park and when leaving, enjoyed the beauty of the statue. I remember feeling uneasy about how unprotected it was there, knowing that some people do not respect public property. It is so sad that it was stolen.

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