Harrisonburg: PD solves the case of the missing ‘Mother Duck’ statue

Three twentysomethings have been charged in the theft of the “Mother Duck” statue that is usually stationed outside the Explore More Discovery Museum in Downtown Harrisonburg.

Madeleine Helmick, 21, of Harrisonburg, Carter Fleming, 22, of Broadway, and Joel Biller, 24, of Broadway, have been charged in connection with the theft, which was reported by museum staff on June 30.

The duck went missing, per staff, sometime between June 26 and June 30, giving Harrisonburg PD detectives the ability to canvass the area to identify businesses with security cameras and obtain footage.

HPD, through these efforts, was able to narrow down the time of theft to the early morning hours of June 28, and obtained video of three suspects and the vehicle they were driving.

It would take another month, until July 29, for tips were submitted through the anonymous Tip411 system to ID Helmick as the female in the photo and one of the males as Fleming.

Thanks to these tips, a search warrant was executed, and “Mother Duck” was recovered in a wooded area off Country Club Road.