Paphos police believe they have found part of the much-hyped stolen ‘girl with the hula hoop’ bronze statue in the city’s industrial area of Tremithousa, Philenews reported on Friday.
District police head Nikos Tsapi also said after an overnight search that lasted until early morning on Friday they found a piece believed to be from the dismantled bronze sculpture.
And that the industrial area has been sealed off as examinations will continue in a bid to find the remaining pieces.
In addition, Tsapis said the island’s Chief of Police has expressed strong interest in the case.
Two men are currently under remand and a woman is wanted in connection with the unprecedented case.
Cypriot artist Yiota Ioannidou’s ‘girl with the hula hoop’ – installed at the Hani tou Ibrahim in the heart of the coastal city since 2019 – was stolen last Friday.
CCTV cameras in the area had recorded two culprits approaching the sculpture, forcibly removing it from its base and dragging it to a spot where it was not recorded.
The motive of this unprecedented action was the sale of copper – the material of which the statue is made.
Ioannidou, who was very distressed that her work was destroyed in such a way, had put a €1,000 cash reward for information helping the police to make an arrest.
