Someone decided downtown St. Petersburg's towering Magic Grasshopper sculpture was open for looting, ripping pieces off the 30-foot artwork outside the Museum of Fine Arts and turning a high-profile installation into a police case. Two shoe ornaments and a decorative flower display were taken, and museum staff estimate about $3,000 in damage.
Police Investigating; Public Asked For Information
The St. Petersburg Police Department said in a Facebook post that the theft has been classified as a grand theft felony and that detectives are investigating. The post asks anyone with information to call 727-893-7780 or text tip411 with a tip, and references report number 2026-010313; full details are available in the department's Facebook.
About the installation
The 30-foot Magic Grasshopper is by artist Yvette Mayorga and was installed on the Museum of Fine Arts plaza with a ribbon-cutting held last Thursday, according to the museum's event calendar. The work was sited in front of the Museum of Fine Arts at 255 Beach Drive NE as part of the museum's spring programming, per the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg.
Legal threshold and charges
Florida law treats theft of property valued at $750 or more as grand theft, a felony, so with estimated damages of roughly $3,000 in this case, the value meets that threshold and investigators labeled the incident accordingly. The statute is codified in Florida Statutes section 812.014, published by the Florida Senate.
Public art theft is hard to reverse
Recoveries for stolen cultural property are often low, especially when thieves remove small decorative elements that can be moved quickly; law enforcement and art-loss researchers note that recovery rates for stolen art can be in the single digits. That makes public tips and quick reporting especially important in local cases like this one, according to the FBI.
Anyone who saw suspicious activity near the Museum of Fine Arts plaza on Wednesday or has information about the stolen pieces is asked to contact the St. Petersburg Police at the number listed in the department's post. Police said investigators are following leads and the case remains under active investigation.
