Bronze bust of Donny Overholser stolen

The hunt is now on for a stolen statue. A bronze bust installed to pay tribute to beloved volunteer Donny Overholser has been stolen.

The City of Fort Myers installed the bust at Sam Fleishman Sports Complex almost there years ago. And, that was on Overholser’s birthday. “That was my birthday, by the way, that day,” said Overholser. 

The thief or thieves even smashed the surveillance cameras nearby so they could get the bust right off its pedestal and make a run for it.

He volunteered so much of his time. He cares deeply about the kids and has for the past 56 years. And due to Overholser’s dedication, in 2019, The City of Fort Myers Little League honored him with a statue.

But now that bust is gone. And Overholser didn’t even know. “We were up here unloading some baseballs that we had gotten into our equipment room, and all of a sudden, one of the guys I was helping deliver turned around and said, ‘what happened to your bust?’ I was like, ‘what do you mean what happened to it?'” said Overholser.

He comes to the park weekly, but on Friday, something was missing. “We turned around and hadn’t even noticed it. It was gone. It was gone,” Overholser said.

The Fort Myers Police Department told WINK News that someone jumped the fence at Sam Fleishman Park early Friday morning. Then, they were able to destroy the security cameras and take the bust from its pedestal.

Overholser spent the better part of 50 years working with and mentoring kids in the community. Coach Matt Herting can’t understand why someone would do this. “Donny doesn’t like a lot of attention, so he was a little embarrassed by it, but what a great tribute to a great man to have a bust here. And nobody deserves it more,” Herting said.

“If it were kids, we wouldn’t understand what good it would do for them to take the bust, I don’t know. But if it was adults, maybe it’s some guys trying to get stuff for scrap,” Overholser said.

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