MATLACHA, Fla. — A vintage cargo ship part that’s been in place on Matlacha since the 1970s is missing.
“Customers loved it,” Yucatan Waterfront Bar and Grill manager Sterling Kolar said. “I loved it and I want it back.”
When Kolar went to check in on the Yucatan reconstruction on Matlacha, he noticed something was missing. Their antique air scoop was nowhere in sight.
“It came from a cargo ship. It’s an air intake to the engine,” Kolar said.
“It was there even before we bought it,” Nicole Lauber McQuade said.
McQuade owned the restaurant prior to the Yucatan. She said this antique cargo ship part had been on Matlacha since the 70s.
“Then after the hurricane, it was still there,” she said.
They said it costs anywhere up to $20,000.
“It can be pretty desolate, so it would’ve been an easy take so I can see how it happened,” Kolar said.
More than one thief would have had to lift this heavy antique and drive past only the watchful eyes of the statues and paintings of fish. If only these walls and statues could talk.
“We’ve driven past this for years and years, I’ve driven past it for years and years, and so have my kids. I drive my kids past this thing every day and to see it gone is really hard,” McQuade said.
Kolar hopes this air scoop can find its way back home before they reopen their restaurant.
“I’ve notified the sheriff so we’ve got eyes and ears open for us,” Kolar said.
And he is asking you to keep your eyes open too.
If you see the air scoop, you should call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers.
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