A statue stolen from Madeline Bertrand County Park in March has been returned. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department says surveillance video shows someone walking into frame at the park around 11 p.m. Saturday with the bronze statue of Madeline Bertrand hoisted over his shoulders. He puts it down and then leaves after taking a few pictures of the statue. No vehicle is seen and the man was wearing a hood. Berrien County Parks Director Jill Adams tells us they learned the statue was back when Park Manager Derek Tyler went into work Sunday morning.
“I think relief at this point is what we’re all feeling, and we’re excited that we can look forward to having the reinstallation and maybe retelling the story about the previous owners of the property, how Madeline Bertrand is such an important person to the history of the region, and how the county park became a county park and was named after Madeline Bertrand.”
However, Adams says they still want to know who stole the statue so that person can be held accountable. The statue was damaged when it was stolen because it was cut off at the ankles, and now the county is working with the original artist so the piece can be reinstalled. Madeline Bertrand was the daughter of a Potawatomi chief and French fur trader Joseph Bertrand and was born in the early 1800s.
