FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A man found a Bonsai tree worth more than $2,000 that had been stolen from a Federal Way museum thrown in the bushes Wednesday.
The 60-year-old, 16-inch tall San Jose Juniper was on display at the Pacific Bonsai Museum when it was stolen early Monday.
A man posted on KIRO 7's Facebook page that he found the Bonsai thrown in the bushes where he feeds squirrels. He said he saw the story about the stolen tree on KIRO 7 and contacted the museum. Staff came to collect the tree and police followed up Wednesday morning.
The tree was found about two miles away from the museum.
“We are so relieved to have this work of art returned. Unfortunately, decades worth of work has been undone in two days. The thieves severely pruned the tree, drastically changing its appearance. The good news is that the tree will survive and hopefully, within years, we will be able to restore it to the work of art that it once was,” said Aarin Packard, Curator of the Pacific Bonsai Museum.
The Bonsai has been part of the museum since it opened in 1989.
Bonsai trees are basically living art. It takes a lot of practice to master the trimming and shaping. If cared for properly, the trees can live for 100 years or longer.
Recently, there has been a rash of Bonsai thefts in the Pacific Northwest.
A 40-year-old tree was stolen in Centralia, and in Surrey, B.C., one nursery was the target of six burglaries in one month resulting in the theft of 15 trees worth $65,000.