PHOENIX — Four days after a statue was stolen from in front of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the artist is now pleading for its return.
On Tuesday night, the four-foot statue was ripped from the ground in front of the Make-A-Wish Foundation headquarters. The artist and his wife told 12News the news of the the theft is gut-wrenching to hear.
"I always work so hard to find a feeling in them," Tom White said. "Sometimes it comes out big, sometimes it's a twinkle in their eye."
For Tom and Marcey White, it was Chris Greicius' smile.
"Every life is so valuable and has meaning whether it's long or short, every life has complete meaning, and they add beauty to the world," said Marcey.
It was a smile that began a movement.
"To me, I love doing these types of jobs they're more honorable," said Tom.
In 2018, Make-A-Wish asked the Whites to create a statue of Greicius, whose wish to be a police officer for a day launched the Foundation that would grant millions more. It was an enormous task the Whites didn't take lightly.
"We have a lot of kids and grandkids ourselves," said Marcey. "So this is very meaningful. Tom's done several children who've passed away and this is very hard. He has to get very emotionally into the sculpture and grieve with the families first, then he can do the sculpture."
Tom worked for about a year. That work though, now gone, after the statue was taken late Tuesday night.
"I feel bad for the people who we did it for," he said. "It's a big loss for them, especially for the mother. It's like, I don't know, it's like kicking over a tombstone it's so disrespectful."
"It's an act of cruelty because every family that's gone through their child being that sick identifies with that," Marcey said. "So it also slaps them, and the Make-A-Wish people who spent thousands of hours volunteering, it's sad."
Hope, love, and strength. The statue inspired everyone who saw it. Especially a grieving mother, who at the time, just needed some joy.
"What made me cry at the dedication is she walked up to him and she kissed him and I lost it," said Marcey. "Because it was like seeing her son again, and it had been almost 40 years."
The wish now is that the bronze sculpture comes back. Back home, where it belongs.
"Every life is so valuable and has meaning whether it's long or short," said Marcey. "And they add beauty to the world. So their names are not forgotten and the name, Chris, inspired people. We don't keep all the clays when they're gone, but we kept Chris because it's inspiring to see when a group of people come together the difference they make."
Phoenix Police are still investigating this and ask anyone with information to reach out to them.