Arrr Imitates Life: Pirate Returns to Familiar Port

Melissa and John Sonner had a visit from somebody they never expected to see again--a six-foot-tall pirate statue that was stolen two years ago from the rear deck of their home at the corner of Shelbourne and Locust, near Arbutus Middle School.

On May 17, 2010, the figure known by the family as the Captain vanished without a trace in the middle of the night.

Early on the morning of Friday, May 18, 2012---two years later almost to the day--the Captain returned. At around 3 a.m., he was found at the front door of the residence, silently facing the front door, unable to explain where he had been.

His right arm, which previously ended in a hook, was missing. He gained a tattoo across his upper chest that read, "STEVE."

A note was taped to his chest. "Hey, sorry about the arm. Hope you still love him. Steve."

"It's so funny to see him back after two years," said Melissa Sonner. "He's a little worse for the wear, but it's nice to have him back."

The Sonners acquired the statue, which weighs 90 or so pounds and is made out of heavyweight resin or fiberglass, from graduating UMBC students.

The Captain had previously resided at a home in the neighborhood rented by UMBC students. When they graduated, the students had to ditch their silent housemate. After bartering with a token amount of beer, the Captain found safe harbor at the Sonner home.

"The statue became a fixture on our tiki deck for several years," Sonner said. "He'd watch over our yard."

Until that fateful May night two years ago. "It was stolen in the middle of the night," she said.

Sonner presumes that the Captain was taken by UMBC students, and probably has been spending his time housed on or near the campus.

His return suggests that his captors graduated from UMBC and are moving on from petty larceny to bigger and better things, she said.

"I think it's funny they remembered where they got it from," Sonner said.

Sonner's father, Mark Tussing, has been living in the Locust Avenue home since the Sonners moved to Pasadena.

At around 3 a.m., Tussing said he heard his dogs barking. He opened the front door to find the Captain staring at him, and in the background three figures running toward Shelbourne.

"His captors named him Steve," Sonner said.

The name may refer to a character in the movie Dodgeball; Steve the Pirate.

The mystery will likely remain unsolved, since the Captain, or Steve, isn't talking.