A Sinclair gas station has its green dinosaur back after a theft led deputies to Stockton, California. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office found it, then had some fun with the tale on Facebook.
Someone reported the dinosaur missing on October 27. It had been taken from a Sinclair station in San Joaquin County, giving B-Side patrol deputies a rather large theft to solve.
“Deputies promptly responded and quickly determined this was no ordinary missing-person case,” the sheriff’s office wrote. Its account described those behind the theft as “less-than-evolved individuals,” and barely let a dinosaur pun go unused.
Deputies found and arrested a suspect, but that did not put the statue straight back to the station. By then, it had already changed hands, and the search continued.
An Unusual Pickup
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The trail led to a buyer in Stockton whom the sheriff’s office described as unsuspecting. That buyer was not the suspect arrested in the theft.
At the Stockton property, deputies found the dinosaur with a bag over its head. A deputy removed it, which the agency described as coming to the creature’s rescue.
Getting it home involved STARS volunteers and a deputy climbing aboard the dinosaur. The sheriff’s office credited the pair’s new bond to “trust, mutual respect, and apparently, a shared love of adventure.” For a gas station mascot, that is quite a ride home.
A Familiar Face
DINO has been around far longer than this theft case. According to Sinclair’s own history, dinosaurs first appeared in its advertising in 1930, and DINO became a registered trademark in 1932.
Fiberglass versions began appearing at stations in the early 1960s. The mascot also inspired the fictional Dinoco brand seen in Pixar’s Cars and Toy Story, so even drivers who have never filled up at Sinclair may know that face.
CBS Sacramento reported that the suspect’s name, possible charges, and exact gas station were not initially released. The sheriff’s office closed its account with a request that fit the recovered property: “As always, if you see something, say something. Even if it’s a dinosaur!”
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.