LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Christmas is seven days away, but a grinch has already done some damage at a local fire department.
Lee’s Summit firefighters say someone stole their plaque from an area park. The emblem was taken from a memorial park for the department’s fallen firefighter, 25-year-old Bryan Pottberg.
The department’s fire captain says it isn’t really the theft that matters but the sentimental value of the plaque. Captain Dan Manley says the bronze plaque was drilled into the rock and also held by some mortar. He says it served as a keystone to the park. Manley says whoever took it must have had some tools and time on their hands.
“It’s very close to our hearts,” said Captain Dan Manley. “When somebody comes and destroys and steals some of the property that is located on this park ground, we become very angry about that.”
Captain Manley says he thinks it could’ve been a random act. It’s likely whoever took it didn’t know the sentimental value. The department is asking for its return with no questions asked.
