A bronze statue of First LadyMelania Trumphas reportedly gone missing in her home country of Slovenia, five years after it replaced a wooden statue that was burned. The statue, a life-sized likeness that perched atop a tree stump, was unveiled in 2020 in the village of Rozno near Sevnica, the small town in which Melania was born as Melanija Knavs, according to local Slovenian media reports. The abstract metal piece replaced a wooden statue that more clearly resembled the First Lady in a pale blue dress akin to the one she wore toDonald Trump's first inauguration. The original, carved by local artist Aleš Župevc, was set ablaze and badly burned in July 2020, after which it was sent to an art museum elsewhere in Slovenia. Pictures of the stump where the bronze statue once stood shared in local media showed just the feet remaining. The rest of the installment was apparently taken after it was sawed off from its base at the ankles. Police spokesperson Alenka Drenik Rangus told news outlets,including AP,CNNandThe Guardian, that the theft was originally reported on May 13 and is under investigation. One of the statue's creators, American conceptual artist Brad Downey,told AFPthat he was "a bit sad that it's gone," adding, "My feeling [is] that it has something to do with the new election [of Donald Trump], but who knows." USA TODAY reached out to Slovenian police, Brad Downey and the White House for comment. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Bronze statue of Melania Trump cut off at ankles, stolen from Slovenia
