National Park Service rangers say someone stole a copper bust of one of the Wright brothers from a monument in the Outer Banks.
A copper reproduction bust of Orville Wright was taken either Saturday night or early Sunday from the foot of the Wright Brothers Monument. The National Park Service says the heavy granite base that supported the bust was toppled and damaged during the crime.
As of Monday morning, the famed aviator's likeness was still missing.
North Carolina has long bragged on Wilbur and Orville Wright, brothers who grew up in Ohio but launched the world's first two-person flight in 1908 in Kitty Hawk in the Outer Banks. They're considered pioneers of aviation, and North Carolina license plates have for years declared the state "First In Flight."
Investigators with the National Park Service are asking that anyone with information about the Wright bust's whereabouts call a tip line at 888-653-0009 or submit tips online at nps.gov/isb.