Stolen Seattle Seahawks Gnome Comes Home
There's no place like home for this stolen gnome.
— -- Branden Smith didn't put out a wide alert when his Seattle Seahawks garden gnome went missing in March -- but he was bewildered that the vagabond mysteriously re-appeared months later -- with photos of his travels.
Weeks after the Seattle Seahawks' Super Bowl victory, Smith and his wife Dana, of Tumwater, Washington, were given a Seahawks garden gnome. The seven-year season ticket holders placed it prominently in the front yard of their home.
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"It was a gift from my mother in early to mid-March," Smith, 34, told ABC News. "We had it out there, and three days later somebody stole the freakin' thing."
Through the spring and summer, life went on for Smith -- sans football and the gnome.
But last week, the first day of NFL season (which featured the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers), the prodigal gnome returned home. Smith stopped by home on the way to the game and discovered the still-faced friend in front of his door.
Clearly, the gnome wanted to return to Seahawks nation just in time for the NFL season.
And the gnome didn't return to the Smiths' residence empty-handed.
The figure sat atop a package -- a calendar featuring photos of the gnome's travels across the western United States.
"It’s awkward. I’m still not sure what to think of it," Smith, a bartender, said.
The calendar shows the gnome at Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and the Golden Gate Bridge.
When asked if he has any inkling of who pulled off this prank, Smith said he has no suspects.
"I’m positive it’s not any of my friends. I’m pretty close with all of my friends, and none have been on vacation. Somebody put a lot of thought into it," he said.
Smith added, "It came back on opening day and I don’t think that’s a coincidence."
After the local ABC affiliate KOMO aired a story on the missing gnome Thursday, somebody commented in the station's online story that they knew who's beyond the scheme.
Smith said he hasn't looked into the allegations.
Smith's mother, the gnome benefactor, is also surprised at its return.
"She gave us another one and we put that one in the front window so it wouldn’t get stolen, so now we have two," he said.
Both gnomes are safe inside the Smiths' home.
When asked if Smith had any comments about this unsolved mystery, he said, "Go Hawks."
