HOLMES BEACH – If you travel down Gulf Drive, you may notice that something’s missing.
Roger the mannequin, a beloved neighborhood personality, is gone.
Roger sat on a second-floor balcony at Maggie Patall’s home, watching over Gulf Drive and giving a friendly wave to passersby. Patall dressed Roger up for every occasion from Easter to Halloween, New Year’s Eve and every holiday in between. Neighbors and visitors alike say that they always looked forward to visiting Roger and seeing what he was up to.
While Patall slept on Thursday night, Aug. 20, someone managed to climb to the second-floor balcony where Roger sat and took the mannequin. Patall didn’t notice the theft until Friday and she contacted the Holmes Beach police, who are looking into the case. A local Holmes Beach resident, Gale Tedhams, said that she saw a mannequin torso on the beach early Friday morning. The mannequin torso was reported to authorities and picked up by a Manatee County Sheriff’s deputy, then later claimed by HBPD officers.
No other pieces of Roger have been found.
A shark attack has not been ruled out.
Once the community found out about Roger’s theft, social media posts spread with people expressing their sympathy to Patall and trying to find the missing mannequin.
“The neighborhood and community have been so wonderful,” Patall said of the support she’s received. “It’s heartwarming to see the concern expressed by neighbors and the local police.”
And while Patall mourns the loss of Roger, what she really misses is what he was wearing – her late husband’s tuxedo jacket. When the torso was found, the tuxedo jacket was nowhere in sight. Patall asks that anyone with any information on the theft or the location of the missing tuxedo jacket contact the HBPD at 941-778-COPS (2677).
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