Stolen 8ft Gary the Gorilla found one year later – but key part is missing

A breakthrough in the case of missing Gary (Picture: Bear Scotland/Reynard Nursery)

The abduction of Gary the Gorilla was one of the most eagerly followed true crime cases of 2023.

Thieves unbolted the 8ft fibreglass figure from the ground and made off in the night, with CCTV footage showing several people loading him into a white van.

Standing even taller than a real gorilla, Gary would have been hard to conceal. And there were many supposed sightings, as he has doppelgangers at other garden centres and one which was seen being towed down a motorway near Warwick.

Now there has finally been a breakthrough, with the real Gary thought to have been tracked to a layby in on the A92 in Fife.

His owners at Reynard’s Nursery near Carluke in Scotland were initially ‘full of excitement’ at seeing the gorilla again, when a member of the public text them a photo to see if it was theirs.

But ‘it wasn’t quite the wholesome reunion we were expecting’, they said – as only half of Gary was found.

The text alerting staff that Gary had been found – or part of him at least (Picture: Reynard Garden Centre)

Gary in his rightful place, donning a mask during lockdowns (Picture: Andrew Scott)

Poor Gary also had chickenpox at one point (Picture: Andrew Scott)

Mr Scott joked Gary’s children were missing him (Picture: Andrew Scott)

They have now rescued the backside of Gary from a skip, but his face, chest and front of his arms and legs are still missing.

The breakthrough came after staff at Bear Scotland, responsible for maintaining Scotland’s main roads network, found 50% of Gary dumped by the roadside.

He was taken to be disposed of, but someone recognised him from media reports and got in touch with Andrew Scott from the garden centre.

Almost exactly a year after he was taken on March 19, the trail to track down Gary has heated up again.

Hopefully he can soon be returned to his rightful spot watching over the road in Lanarckshire, where staff would dress him up with the changing of the seasons, kitting up out with a Santa hat and even PPE during lockdown.

The garden centre urged customers on their Facebook page: ‘We are now asking anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Gary’s better half, please contact us.’

Thanks to the road workers who recogised the statue and ‘the criminal’s disregard to the laws of fly tipping’, they ‘feel we are ‘closer than ever to bringing all of Gary home’.

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