HARBOUR GRACE — A life-size statue of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart has been found — cut into pieces — months after it was stolen from a park northwest of St. John's, N.L., RCMP say.
Officials say the bronze figure will be repaired and returned to its stand in the town of Harbour Grace, where on May 20, 1932, the 34-year-old American pilot began her journey to Northern Ireland, becoming the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean.
"I'm excited — I'm really, really happy," Don Coombs, mayor of Harbour Grace, said in an interview Monday. "I guess I never gave up hope that she would return."
Coombs said he received a call at night on Aug. 5 from an informant telling him where he could find the statue — in a wooded area 25 kilometres northwest of Harbour Grace. The mayor said he immediately called the Mounties. Three days later, the statue was returned to town.
"I was anxious," Coombs said about receiving the anonymous tip.
"And that was a late-night call. I said, 'yeah, I'll go get her,' and thinking, 'well, I don't have the pickup (truck), and I got nobody in my house, just my girls, and how am I going to get out at nighttime?' So I made a call to the RCMP."
Police said the statue commemorating Earhart's successful transatlantic flight was cut into pieces — but all the parts have been found and returned to the town.
The thieves, however, haven't been caught and police say their investigation continues.
Harbour Grace is one of the oldest settlements in North America, and home to about 2,750 people. In April, when the statue was stolen, Coombs said residents were devastated.
On Monday, Coombs said town officials and police received calls of support from across Canada but also from the United States and England.
"We had people in the (United) States who wanted to replace her for free. We had people up in Ottawa who worked in the foundries, who thought they might be able to help out," he said.
Coombs said the statue will be repaired and returned to the stone platform overlooking the airstrip where Earhart began her famous journey.
Five years after Earhart made the historic voyage, she vanished over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe.
"Amelia was an icon. She went to new heights. She showed women that you can do whatever they want to do in life … that the sky's the limit," Coombs said.
"And we're just proud to have her coming back to Harbour Grace."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2025.
The Canadian Press
