Gerald E. Caryl’s front yard is a little emptier than it used to be.

In May, somebody stole a resin sculpture of a bald eagle from the Ogdensburg resident’s property at the corner of King Street and Adams Avenue. He is hoping a cash reward will entice whoever has it to give it back.

“I just want the eagle back, no questions asked,” he said. “If somebody has purchased an eagle like this from someone in the last few months, they should know it’s stolen.”

The eagle is about 30 inches wide and two feet high and is posed with wings spread.

“It’s the only one like it around,” he said.

Anyone with information about the eagle or looking for more information about the reward should call Mr. Caryl at 393-3413. He has not placed a value on the reward.

“We are going to offer a fair reward based on whether we get it back,” he said.

Offering a reward might be the only shot Mr. Caryl has at getting it back. Ogdensburg Police Lieutenant Harry J. McCarthy says the department cannot keep up with the number of stolen property reports it receives, and much of the time investigations into such thefts yield no results.

“The chances of recovering it without an informant or a reward are very, very slim,” Mr. McCarthy said. “We get about a half a dozen larcenies reported a day and a burglary about every three days.”

Over the weekend, police received seven reports of business, vehicle and residential break-ins, five of which were forced entry. Mr. McCarthy said these crimes are indicative of larger problems in the community.

“We have a drug problem,” he said. “We have an unemployment problem. We have an income problem. A lot of people aren’t working.”

With two officers working each shift and about 7,000 calls a year, Mr. McCarthy said it’s impossible to place great emphasis on investigating petty thefts because officers have to more serious crimes to solve. Mr. Caryl’s eagle is valued at about $30.

Mr. McCarthy said even if Mr. Caryl was certain about who took the sculpture, it would still take time to gather enough evidence to charge a suspect.

It is difficult to make an arrest without eye-witness statements, he said.

“If somebody says they heard through the grapevine about who did it, chances are nobody they talked to will want to sign a statement because they know eventually it will be seen by the suspect,” he said. “People fear retribution.”

Mr. Caryl said this is not the first time something has been stolen from his property, and he does not think it will be the last.

“This happens all the time,” he said. “People are always taking things around here.”

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