Columbia bust recovered

The bronze bust stolen from Ybor City's Columbia Restaurant has been recovered, police said today.

A passerby saw kids playing with the bust at Central and Chelsea avenues about 5 p.m. Monday. The unidentified person chased off the kids, recovered the statue and contacted police.

A police detective returned the bust to the restaurant Monday night. Today, staffers at the Columbia will install the statue indoors, locked away "so it doesn't get stolen for a third time," said police spokesman James Contento.

The bust is of Adela Gonzmart, the late mother of Columbia owner Richard Gonzmart. This was the second time it was stolen from the restaurant. In Dec. 2005, someone swiped the statue and dumped it in a grassy lot at 24th Street N and Fifth Avenue E.

Tampa resident Linda Thomas found it a day after it was stolen. Unaware of its origins and significance, she placed the statue in her car and brought it home to the 2300 block of E Fifth Avenue, where it remained for about a month. Thomas' relatives called police and the statue was returned safely.

Outside the restaurant, staffers bolted the bust to the ground with steel rods.

Last month, the statue was stolen again.

A concrete bust found near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge last week caused a stir when it initially was thought to be the stolen bust. It turned out to be a bust of Richard Misener, a former St. Petersburg mayor after whom the bridge where it was found is named.

But police said the bust found on Monday is the real deal.

"It's a Tampa landmark," Contento said. "We're just glad to get it back."

-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Photo courtesy Columbia Restaurant

Comments

[JOhn]

Oh thank God! So glad this is front page news...

[Dee]

Yes, I agree with you John!!!

[Susan]

Put the bust inside, behind glass, on camera, with a security guard posted in front of it...lol....Glad you got it back!

[Uma Gumma]

Busted again!