Several ice sculptures smashed in Media over weekend
MEDIA, Pa. (CBS) -- Ice sculptures that had cost thousands of dollars and helped beautify a Delaware County community were smashed into pieces over the weekend. Now, police are searching for the vandals.
"It was very beautiful," Liz McClearn said.
McClearn, the executive director of the Media Arts Council, paid part of the $350 tab to have this frozen work of art outside her gallery – driving a lot of foot traffic.
"Triple what a typical Saturday would be in January," McClearn said.
But the next day.
"When I came on Sunday, I saw there was no ice sculpture," McClearn said.
Of the 30 sculptures that were on display in Media over the weekend, police believe someone intentionally knocked over six, shattering them into pieces.
Officers say the vandalism happened either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
"It's a shame," Brittany Scharr, of the Be the Joy Foundation, said.
Scharr showed CBS Philadelphia a photo of her sculpture from when it was displayed Saturday, just hours before it was also smashed.
"It was beautiful, we lit it up at night," Scharr said. "We had so much traffic all day long, there was people coming in on foot, lots of kids."
"And we had a huge success that day, we fundraised $1,333," she added.
Scharr's organization gives the money to those in need, but she decided not to fundraise Sunday without the sculpture.
"For us, it didn't really make sense, you know everybody's really coming to see the ice sculptors," Scharr said.
Artist Peter Slavin helped create the sculptures.
"It's just a shame," Slavin said. "Because a lot of families came out on Sunday to see some of the sculptures and there were gone," Slavin said.
But one design was damaged another way.
A Media police officer saw a sculpture on a table get blown over by whipping winds Saturday night, leaving it in ruins.
"We had some unfortunate incidents from Mother Nature and others but the event still went on," Elizabeth Romain, a Media Borough councilmember, said. "We had a really great time and we hope to bring this back next year."
Police say they're reviewing security video and hope to identify a suspect.