Authorities Warn Miami Sandbar Copycats

Jan. 29, 2011— -- A day after a baby grand piano that mysteriously appeared on a Miami sandbar was removed, another odd batch of items has turned up at same location -- and authorities are not happy.

A dinner setting for two -- including a small table with two chairs, place settings, a bottle of wine and a chef statue -- appeared on a Biscayne Bay sandbar on Friday morning.

Local authorities have responded to the pranks, warning that anyone caught leaving items at the sandbar would be arrested, as such activity is illegal.

"The bottom line is that this is completely against the law. People caught doing it will be arrested," said Jorge Pino of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Nicholas Harrington, a 16-year-old old local resident, came forward as the public artist that left the 650-pound grand piano on the sandbar. He told The Associated Press that the piano was an old movie prop that had sat in his grandmother's garage for years.

Harrington loaded the piano onto the family's boat in early January after it had been burned out and trashed at a holiday party, and placed the piano at the sandbar's highest point, so it would not be underwater during high tide.

The piano sat there for some time before a photo snapped of the strange sight went viral on the Internet, becoming an overnight sensation.

"It's actually a hazard, that spot, if you're boating, because you could run aground there," Harrington told the AP.

"It wouldn't really get in anyone's way. We didn't want to leave it somewhere where we'd need to pick it up later," he added.

Though it appears that his intentions may not have been 100 percent about safety -- Banksy-inspired Harrington did send photos of the strategically placed piano along with his application to a highly competitive art college.

"I like the surreal-ness of it all, it's out of your everyday life. If you're on your boat and you see a piano," Harrington said. "That's why everyone likes it so much, too."