Fire Ant Symbol Kidnapped From Tomball Brewpub

TOMBALL, TX — The owners of Tomball's Fire Ant Brewpub are pulling out all the stops and searching hither and yon in the hopes of locating one of the restaurants beloved fire ant symbols.

The metallic red fire ant, constructed entirely of sheet metal and rebar, was taken from the front of the restaurant against its will by a man who'd enjoyed a nice meal at the Market Street eatery on Wednesday night.

The man, the owners said, walked out with a group and snatched the ant from its mound in front of the brewpub, and walked away without a single word.

Sylvia Kissinger, one of the co-owners the restaurant and brewpub, described the nefarious event in a Facebook post on Thursday morning.

"If you're the person [old man in the striped shirt] that had dinner at our pub tonight at 9:21 p.m., when you walked out you borrowed one of our small red ants. Please bring her back," the message pleaded.

The Fire Ant Brew opened in October after years of anticipation and hard work for everyone involved in the family owned businesses.

Customers coming into the trendy new hot spot have been greeted by the lone ant standing vigil outside the restaurant, along with the smaller red metallic ants near the front door.

Some snapped photos while others gave the taller ant a pat on the head as the came and went, but none had any inkling that such a dastardly act would happen to one of the beloved fire ants.

But it has, and the only lead they have is the man they've identified as Rickey, recorded on surveillance video snatching the unsuspecting ant from its mound.

The owners appealed for the return of the ant to its colony, and then opted to publish a photo of the man dubbed Rickey along the missing ant.

So far, there has been no word about the ant, or any word of a possible ransom from his captor.

Fire Ant Brew Pub is offering a beer reward for the safe return of the missing ant.

(For more news and information like this, subscribe to Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Image: Bryan Kirk/Patch

Send your news tips and story ideas to bryan.kirk@patch.com