Store owner asks for his Elvis statue to be returned

VIRGINIA BEACH

Elvis has left the parking lot.

John Estes, the owner of Cool and Eclectic Furniture and Fashions, said a 6-foot statue of the iconic musician vanished from outside his Laskin Road store this week.

Ol' Swivel Hips disappeared on the heels of the Beach's 14th annual Elvis festival, held June 19- 21 at the Oceanfront.
"It's a very mysterious coincidence," said Mike Hilton, marketing director for Beach Events, the organization that coordinated Viva Elvis and the Legends of Rock & Roll.

He said the festival drew about 1,000 Elvis fans each day.
Estes said he noticed that the $599 fiberglass Elvis was missing around 10:30 p.m. Monday, when he went to bring in his statues for the night. He said he puts a few out each day to catch the eyes of passing motorists and doesn't bolt them to the ground.

Estes said a man in a nearby parking lot told him he saw two men loading the 200-pound statue into a dark color pickup truck around 8:30 p.m. There were two or three other people with them, and they all appeared to be in their 30s, Estes said the man told him.

Estes filed a theft report with Virginia Beach police that night.
"It might be a joke or a novelty item, but it's a grand larceny, and that's a serious charge," police spokesman Jimmy Barnes said. "We will be investigating."
This isn't the first time Estes' statues have gone missing.

In 2005, somebody snatched a life-size Betty Boop statue outside the Shore Drive location, which is now closed. The body was found a block from the store. The head was never recovered.

A few years before that, somebody waltzed out of the Laskin Road showroom with a 6-foot Charlie Chapl in, Estes said.
Barnes encouraged those with information on The King's whereabouts to call the

Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (562-5887).

Estes said he's offering a $100 reward for information that leads to the statue's return.

He'll thank you, thank you very much.