“Lindsey the Giraffe” Finally Returned to Powerhouse for Kids

“Lindsey the Giraffe” has been found. The metal giraffe that adorned the entrance to the child advocacy center known as the ‘Power House for Kids’ has been brought home and is currently in a secure location.

Back on March 18, a person or persons stole the giraffe statue from in front of the powerhouse for kids facility on U.S. Highway 123 in Stephens County, where it has been located since it was installed there in 2012.

“Lindsey” was given to ‘Powerhouse for Kids’ and named in honor and memory of Lindsey Worley, a survivor and nurse who helped at Powerhouse and was killed in a motor vehicle accident.

According to Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley, an individual recognized the statue, traded for it and then returned it to Toccoa.

“Saturday morning we received a call from 911 that an individual had recovered the stolen giraffe, lindsey the giraffe, and would meet us at the powerhouse for kids,” said Shirley.

Shirley said the break came just as the trail seemed to go cold.

“I’ll tell you what made this case continue to stay warm and then get hot was the continued support from the community with sharing their comments on Facebook, on social media, the media awareness and of course we had a reward fund that was established,” said Shirley.

The individual who returned the statue was unable to give officials much information on who might have originally taken “Lindsey” but Shirley said they have a pretty good idea of the identity of the thief.

“We have a good idea who it is, but it’s still not going to be an easy case to solve, but never the less we’re going to give it our best effort. We’re just so happy that it was safely returned; however there is some damage on the giraffe, but it’s repairable,” said Shirley.

Shirley said the giraffe is a special symbol to those who need the services of the ‘Powerhouse for Kids.’

“The first thing that the children would see when they went into the Powerhouse for Kids was that giraffe standing there and that just started the calming effect for the traumatized and victimized children,” said Shirley.

There’s no word yet on how long repairs may take and how the giraffe will be displayed in the future.