Large US Open golf ball stolen from Southern Pines sidewalk

A large concrete golf ball used to raise funds for charity and greet visitors to the U.S. Open Championships was stolen from a downtown sidewalk early Sunday morning.

Posted 9:23 p.m. Jun 22, 2014 — Updated 9:23 p.m. Jun 22, 2014

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — A large concrete golf ball used to raise funds for charity and greet visitors to the U.S. Open Championships was stolen from a downtown sidewalk early Sunday morning.

The “Golf Ball Art Statue” was torn from its mounting in front of 181 NE Broad Street and tipped over at 1:30 a.m., police said. The statue was taken an hour later.

Surveillance photos captured one group of four people involved with tipping the golf ball and a second group of four taking the statue. Police have not said if the individuals in both groups are the same.

A dozen of the decorated golf balls line NE Broad Street in Southern Pines. Proceeds from the statues benefit the Southern Pines Rotary Foundation, which makes donations to charities focusing on children, education and health care. The art was designed and sponsored by the Southern Pines Boys and Girls Club.

“The Southern Pines Police Department is encouraging the participants in these crimes to come forward and present themselves…in addition to returning the stolen artwork to its rightful owners, the children of the Southern Pines Boys and Girls Club,” the department said in a statement.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Southern Pines police at (910) 692-7031 or anonymously at (910) 693-4110.

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