Huge Inflatable Dragons Mysteriously Stolen From Wicker Park Halloween Display
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There's a decoration dilemma going on in Wicker Park.
As CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported, one block of Hoyne Avenue is known for its elaborate displays and decorations – but it just so happens that some have disappeared.
Halloween is a big deal on the block. The neighbors go all out with decorations – draped, dangling, or hanging in just about every yard.
"Hoyne is pretty much the place to be for Halloween around here," said neighbor Dan Nikolaides.
But one home was the target of a nasty trick – and even youngsters are noticing. Nikolaides' young daughter did.
"I told her and she actually noticed as we were walking down the street. She's like: 'They're missing. They're not here."
"They" are Mark Yee's huge inflatable dragons.
"The orange dragon was stretched out the length, from there to that table; his tail went all the way over here," Yee said as he pointed to opposite sides of his property.
Yee was getting ready to welcome 1,500 trick-or-treaters on Thursday, Oct. 31. The event shuts down the block.
"All the kids look forward to it," he said.
In the past, families have flocked to Yee's elaborate displays.
"The dragons are really part of the folklore of the street now," Yee said.
Yee has become known for the massive dragons that fill the front yard – one orange, the other purple.
"Last year, they were battling, and this year they just were munching on the flowers," Yee said.
It was a picture-perfect backdrop. Yee put the final touches on his display on Thursday of this week – dragons and all.
But his big attraction didn't last long.
"They were gone," Yee said.
The dragons flew away. They were snatched from the display, just hours after they were inflated.
"How could that happen, especially since I was trying to plan something for all the kids?" Yee said.
Now, Yee hoping for a sign, and a safe return, of his dragons.
"I hope you would bring the dragons back," he said. "The dragons are for the kids."
The Halloween block party is still going to happen. But Yee said if his dragons show up to his front door, he won't ask any questions about how they disappeared.
