Missing dragon sculpture found swaddled in blankets in Nanaimo, B.C.

NANAIMO, B.C. — A large aluminum dragon sculpture that went missing from its perch in a Nanaimo, B.C., park has been found.

Artist Heather Wall says in an email the dragon turned up in a library parking lot wrapped in brightly-coloured blankets on Friday afternoon.

Rock Dragon 2.0 was installed atop a rock and steel sphere mounted on a two-metre pole in the waterfront park in early June and Wall said it would have required a co-ordinated effort to get it down.

She estimated the value at between $12,000 and $15,000 and said it had been leased by the City of Nanaimo for one year.

Nanaimo RCMP spokesoman Const. Gary O’Brien says the sculpture did not appear to be damaged.

It’s one of several pieces of art that have been reported stolen on Central Vancouver Island in recent weeks, including a 300-pound Chinese terracotta statue that went missing from a Lantzville yard on Tuesday.