More than a year after it vanished from Phalen Regional Park, the stolen bronze bust of Olympic gymnast Suni Lee has turned up intact — recovered by St. Paul police officers who were responding to a shots-fired call early Friday morning, roughly two miles from where the statue once stood. A man has been arrested in connection with the theft, though no one has been arrested for the gunfire that led officers there in the first place.
According to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, callers reported gunshots near Forest Street and Sims Avenue, and officers arriving on scene found spent rifle casings outside a multi-unit home. After making several announcements, they watched multiple people come outside before conducting a protective sweep of the residence. Inside, they discovered not only the missing statue but also multiple guns and ammunition, per the station’s report.
St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said the statue was recovered as a direct result of officers’ response to the shots-fired call, and that thieves had stolen it from the community last year. As reported by CBS News, the bronze bust weighs nearly 50 pounds and cost $6,700 to install in 2023, and it was recovered whole from the 900 block of Forest Street after the shots-fired response.
A Felony Charge, But No Answers on the Gunfire
An adult male resident was booked into Ramsey County Jail on a felony charge of receiving stolen property in connection with the statue, according to Patch. No arrests have been made for the shooting itself, leaving open questions about who fired the rifle rounds outside the home and why. The theft of the statue in July 2025 and the circumstances that finally led to its recovery remain, in some respects, separate mysteries connected only by the address on Forest Street…