Police: Sponge Bob Not Stolen From Burger King - He Melted

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NORWICH-- The mystery to the giant SpongeBob Square Pants thought stolen last week from the Norwich Burger King rooftop is over. You could say the air-pumped, 6-foot tall decoration fell prey to an inside job.

The Norwich police department declared the case of the missing SpongeBob -- a larceny investigation -- solved Tuesday after learning that a restaurant maintenance crew discarded a deflated SpongeBob after it melted into the rooftop heating system air ducts. SpongeBob had been a fixture for nearly a month before disappearing Nov. 30. The maintenance crew did not tell management of the meltdown and subsequent cleanup.

Dan Duncan, the Norwich Burger King assistant manager who was the first to discover the air-pumped promotional tool missing, said the incident sparked a lot of customer interest. Duncan said even policemen patrolling that area's beat wondered how they could possibly miss a rooftop heist.

"I was saying (the crooks) had to be really good, or know a cop to get it," Duncan said.

Burger King managers reported the item missing Dec. 3, the same week Burger Kings in 14 states reported stolen icons amid a SpongeBob Square Pants pop culture frenzy. The promotion, which included SpongeBob Square Pants digital watches and toys sold with menu items, was part of a tie-in with Nickelodeon cable television network to publicize the new SpongeBob Square Pants movie. The Norwich Burger King ran out of the watches almost three weeks before the Dec. 20 campaign end.

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041208/NEWS01/412080305/1002

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