Giant red spoon stolen from Phoenix Dairy Queen found, suspects sought: police

PHOENIX - A giant red spoon that was stolen from a Phoenix Dairy Queen has been found, police say.

The 15-foot tall statue was snatched from a Dairy Queen near 51st Avenue and Thomas Road. The thieves took off with it sometime between the evening of Friday, March 24, and Saturday, March 25.

The statue has a value of over $3,500, according to Silent Witness.

Michael Foster says he was outside playing Pokémon GO on the morning of April 3 when he spotted the spoon near Marc T. Atkinson Middle School.

"It’s a great way to get out and experience some things that you may not see everyday," he said about the game. "I have a disability. It keeps me from doing a lot of things but what keeps me out and going for my walks every morning is Pokémon GO. I go out and catch some Pokémon, battle in the gyms and get myself some exercise."

What he found was his "sweetest" surprise ever.

"What is a big spoon doing here? And then I remembered the night before on the news my wife and I had seen that they had lost the spoon. So the first thing I did was message the wife ‘I found the spoon’ and she responded ‘call the police.’"

A school maintenance man came over and pushed the spoon over the fence to Foster who then handed it to an officer.

"It was definitely photo worthy. I made sure to take a couple pictures with it," he said. "I’m not worried about any kind of reward or anything. I'm just glad that they got their spoon back."

The investigation into the theft isn't over.

"The theft continues to be investigated by detectives to find the people responsible for taking the property," police said.

Police released surveillance video of the theft and say they are looking for two men and a woman in connection to the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.

Area of where the theft happened: