Calgary family pleads for return of treasured lion statues stolen from northwest home

One of two decorative lions stolen from outside a Calgary home in the northwest community of Evanston. (Courtesy Rebecca Pham)

CALGARY -

Two decorative lion statues that have adorned a family's homes in Ontario and Alberta for nearly 30 years were stolen over the weekend and they are now desperately pleading for their return.

The lions have immense sentimental value for Rebecca Pham as they were the only things salvaged after her family's home was destroyed in a fire that claimed the life of her older brother — who was 13 at the time — following the Ontario ice storms in 1998.

Pham noticed the lions, which are about a metre tall and weigh about 100 pounds each, were gone when she returned home from grocery shopping on Saturday afternoon.

"I almost started crying right then," she said. "They mean the world to us, I was devastated."

She checked with her neighbour, who has surveillance cameras, and found the lions were still there when a car passed by at 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 13, but were gone when another drove by at 5:30 a.m.

She expanded her search and cameras on homes down the street also captured a blue Toyota Tacoma truck being driven suspiciously.

"It drove by, flipped a U-turn and went the other direction by my house," she said. "And it went very slow by my home. I also found a neighbour that had video in colour so they took a picture. It drives by then turns around then backs up down the street."

The theft was reported to Calgary police and Pham says she just wants the lions back, no questions asked.

"Honestly, put them somewhere someone is going to see them and call it in to the police," she said. "But don't dump them. Please don't dump them on the side of the road. Bring them back."

IN THE FAMILY FOR 37 YEARS

Pham's father, Lorne Finn, bought the lions in 1984, before she and her brother, Vincent, were born and they sat on top of an archway in front of the family's 150-year-old home in Algonguin, a small village in eastern Ontario.

The home was left without power after major ice storms devastated the region in 1998, so Pham, who was 11 at the time, went to stay with her grandparents who still had power, while her parents and brother remained.

The two lions were the only things salvaged after Rebecca Pham's childhood home in Ontario was destroyed by fire. (courtesy Rebecca Pham)

A wood stove was being used for heat, which sparked a fire in the middle of the night. Pham's grandfather was the fire chief of the village at the time and raced to the scene, while she listened to it play out over a shortwave radio.

"So at three o'clock in the morning when the fire started and fire department got called, I was the first to know my house was on fire and my brother was trapped," she said.

"It was awful. I really remember the fire alarm going off, my grandfather's radio and giving my address and saying somebody was trapped. I heard all of it. Then the police came to my house and informed us of what happened.

"It was an awful experience and those lions were the only things that survived that fire for my family … so those lions moved to every house we ever lived in."

Sadly, Pham's father passed away last year, so her mother, Judi Finn, moved to Calgary to be closer to her.

"One of the things I said the day before she was moving was, 'You better be packing those lions in that vehicle,' and she said, 'Yes, those lions are coming.'"

Anyone with information is asked to call the Calgary police non-emergency line at 403-266-1234.