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Make-A-Wish statue that was stolen and destroyed to be replaced
The statue depicts Chris Grecius, a Phoenix boy who inspired the creation of Make-A-Wish, and the bronze statue was stolen and destroyed in January. FOX 10's Linda Williams has more on what's next for the statue that meant so much to the organization.
PHOENIX - World Wish Day is scheduled for April 29, and it's a time when people celebrate Make-A-Wish.
April 29 is significant for Make-A-Wish, because that is the day a Phoenix boy named Chris Grecius was granted his wish.
In 1980, Greicius was battling leukemia. A family friend knew he wanted to become a police officer, so he spoke with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, who made his wish come true by giving Greicius a helicopter ride and uniform. Greicius was even sworn in, becoming the state’s first and only Honorary DPS Officer.
Chris Greicius, in a photo taken at the time he was made an honorary Arizona DPS officer.
While Greicius passed away two days after his wish was granted, his story inspired six people to form the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has since grown to more than 52 chapters across the country, with 30 international affiliates.
In January 2023, we reported that a statue that bears the likeness of Greicius was stolen from the Make-A-Wish headquarters in Phoenix. The statue was later found destroyed, and a suspect, identified as Troy Burke, was arrested and accused of theft and trafficking of stolen property.
Investigators accuse Burke of transporting pieces of the statue to two separate scrapyards, which reportedly earned him a total of $180.
"You know, the first thing that came to my mind was ‘My God, when I buried him the first time – it’s almost like the second time he’s gone,’" said Greicius' mother, Linda Pauling, in January.
Troy Burke
It has been months since the statue's destruction, and on April 26, we learned more on efforts aimed at replacing it.
According to Make-A-Wish officials, insurance has approved the claim, and the statue's re-creation can now begin.
It is not known when work on the replacement statue will begin, but when the replacement is completed, it will be placed at the Wish Garden at Make-A-Wish House in Scottsdale.
"I'll have my little boy back. I can take him a red rose again. It will be super," Pauling said on April 26.
The replacement statue will reportedly be made by the original statue's sculptor, Tom White.