Bronze bust of Donny Overholser found by man walking his dog

Police say the bronze bust of Donny Overholser, which was stolen from a Fort Myers sports complex, has been located undamaged.

Investigators are now dusting for fingerprints, looking for any clue as to who stole the bronze bust.

The City of Fort Myers installed the statue for Donny Overholser because he dedicated decades of his life to the community.

Last Friday, someone swiped his bust from the Sam Fleishman regional sports complex.

“Well, I’m glad it’s not damaged,” Overholser said.

The bust was a gift from the Fort Myers American Little League in 2019. Overholser is currently the president of Fort Myers American Youth Baseball and Softball.

The thief, or thieves, who took Overholser’s bust decided not to get caught with it, so they dumped it, and someone found it.

The person who found the bust lives in the neighborhood by the Sam Fleishman Sports Complex while walking his dog on Tuesday night. They called Fort Myers police, who are now looking for clues, hoping to find the people responsible for taking it.

Kristin Capuzzi, with Fort Myers police, said they will, “have our crime scene girls, go ahead and process the bust for any type of fingerprints, you know, just anything we could find on it.”

Overholser is glad it is back because it means so much to the kids who honored him with it.

“We’ve had 1,000s and 1,000s of kids go through the program. So you know, and then I was lucky enough for the longest time to do that mission,” said Overholser.

Police say the thief destroyed the surveillance cameras at the park. Those will have to be replaced.

Overholser said, “we’re going to have to do something, obviously, to better secure it, where it’s at, rather than the method was done. So we’ll put some more cameras in, but hide them in different places.”

Fort Myers police said that while it remains a mystery who took the statue, the most important thing is that it is back where it belongs.