Crime

Plaque stolen from Steven Stayner, Timmy White memorial statue in Merced park

The “Teen Hero” statue, erected in honor of kidnapping victim Steven Stayner, stand near the rosebushes in the Merced community rose garden in Applegate Park on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. The city will look to replace turf in the area to make the garden more water efficient.
The “Teen Hero” statue, erected in honor of kidnapping victim Steven Stayner, stand near the rosebushes in the Merced community rose garden in Applegate Park on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. The city will look to replace turf in the area to make the garden more water efficient. Thaddeus Miller tmiller@mercedsunstar.com

A plaque telling the story of Merced native Steven Stayner’s 1972 abduction — along with his heroic act of saving 5-year-old Timmy White — has been stolen from the monument at Applegate Park.

Few details are available and no one has been arrested.

Merced Police Lt. Emily Foster said the bronze plaque was noticed missing from the base of the Stayner and White statue sometime last week.

After checking with the city’s public works department, it was confirmed to have been taken. Police do not yet have an estimate of the plaque’s value or how much it will cost to replace.

Stayner was 7 when he was abducted by Kenneth Eugene Parnell in Merced on Dec. 4, 1972.

Parnell, a convicted sex offender, held Stayner captive and sexually abused him or more than seven years. When Stayner was 14, Parnell abducted 5-year-old Timmy White.

Steven and White fled from a cabin they were in with Parnell in Mendocino County and hitchhiked to Ukiah where they were found by police and reunited with their family.

A new three-part documentary series available on Hulu titled “Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story,” tells the story of the Stayner family.

SUN-STAR PHOTO BY LISA JAMES A plaque on the base of Applegate Park’s new Steven Stayner statue tells the story of the Merced native’s 1972 abduction and his heroic act of saving 5-year-old Timmy White who his kidnapper abducted 8 years later. Stayner championed the cause of missing children until his untimely death at the age of 24 in 1989. A plaque bearing the names of other missing children in Merced County will later be added. August 27, 2010
SUN-STAR PHOTO BY LISA JAMES A plaque on the base of Applegate Park’s new Steven Stayner statue tells the story of the Merced native’s 1972 abduction and his heroic act of saving 5-year-old Timmy White who his kidnapper abducted 8 years later. Stayner championed the cause of missing children until his untimely death at the age of 24 in 1989. A plaque bearing the names of other missing children in Merced County will later be added. August 27, 2010 Merced Sun-Star

This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 2:11 PM.

AK
Andrew Kuhn
Merced Sun-Star
209-385-2461
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