As this aviator mourns loss of Amelia Earhart statue, there's a $10K offer for justice

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 3:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 17 minutes ago

Artists and aviators alike accidental they stay stunned by the theft of a statue depicting Amelia Earhart successful Harbour Grace, portion a Newfoundland and Labrador institution is offering up a large reward to bring the culprit to justice.

Kim Winsor, an hose aviator primitively from the state and co-chair of the First Canadian Chapter of the 99's International Organization of Women Pilots, says the radical is feeling tremendous loss.

"It's hard to speech astir it without getting choked up," Winsor told CBC Radio's On the Go.

"Devastating. Speechless. So sad. You know, the Town of Harbour Grace has done specified a fantastic occupation preserving aviation past successful Newfoundland and the past of Amelia Earhart, and recognizing what a pioneer she was successful aviation. So it's heartbreaking."

Winsor and members of the 99's visited the municipality successful 2022 to observe the 90th day of Earhart's historical transatlantic flight. Earhart was the group's archetypal president.

The bronze statue of her likeness, erected successful 2007, was stolen successful the aboriginal hours of Thursday.

Morgan MacDonald, a Newfoundland sculptor known for his enactment with bronze, told CBC News helium was horrified by the theft. He trained alongside the statue's sculptor, Luben Boykov.

"I was conscionable shocked," MacDonald said. "The happening that saddens maine the astir is how, you know, an artist's archetypal enactment of creation is present perchance destroyed and mislaid forever."

MacDonald says different statue could beryllium crafted, but added it would apt instrumentality hundreds of thousands of dollars and yet wouldn't beryllium the same.

Members of the 99's, driven by planetary president Robin Hadfield, person created a fundraising effort to rise wealth for a replacement.

"There are galore statues passim the satellite of Amelia Earhart, and [Hadfield] said of the statues that she has seen, this was the nicest 1 she had ever seen," Winsor said.

$10k reward offered for thief's conviction

Meanwhile, a St. John's-based metallic recycling institution says it's offering a hefty reward for justice.

"We are offering a $10,000 reward to the apprehension and condemnation of the idiosyncratic oregon radical who are liable for this," said Don Drew, operations manager of Newco Metal and Auto Recycling.

"We privation them caught. We privation them convicted, we privation them to service clip for what they person done. This is simply a deed connected this full province… we're arrogant of our history. And successful this 1 action, it has affected each of that."

Rewards person present reached $25,000 successful total, including galore anonymous donations from a radical called Friends of Amelia.

Drew says Newco Metal often works with constabulary successful theft cases, similar erstwhile car parts are stolen, and says scrapyards crossed the state are connected precocious alert — fixed they're immoderate of the lone places bronze could beryllium melted for profit. 

He says that hurts the estimation of the industry, and its worth as scrap — betwixt $2 and $3 per lb — pales successful examination to the statue's significance.

"We're watching for thing that comes successful that resembles a statue oregon those pieces of bronze oregon ample amounts of bronze," helium said.

If the thief oregon thieves aren't found, Drew says the $10,000 would beryllium donated to the municipality toward a caller statue.

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