Ronald McNapped

Ronald McDonald McNapped in Ballston Spa!

July 5, 2007 02:44 PM

McNapped: the hunt is on, for Ronald McDonald!

The statue was saved from the garbage heap by a Ballston Spa man who took it home and kept it for years - until this weekend, when a determined burglar apparently broke into the family's yard, and took all eight-feet of the familiar fast-food icon.

NEWS10's Jeff Stoecker is on the case of the missing clown.

Sunday started out like any other day for Grace Ruggiero, by letting the dog out.

"Sat down, had my coffee like I always do," Grace says. "She (Grace's dog) usually knocks him (the Ronald statue) down and gets caught up behind him. I just sat there, and I'm like, where the heck is Ronald?"

Someone stole the eight-foot Ronald McDonald statue sitting in the Ruggiero's backyard for the last 14 years. It had to be one of the stranger calls to Ballston Spa Police.

"She (the police dispatcher) said, can you give me a description - I said, yeah, he's an eight-foot clown, his name is Ronald," says Grace, who chuckles.

The Ruggiero's backyard, for the most part, is not even visible from the street. Their garage is even further back - and that is where Ronald used to stand. Neighbors have their theories now, on who is responsible:

"The guy from Burger King," says Randy Cotton, referring to the "King" mascot in commercials.

"The Burger King, is that his name?" Jeff asks Randy.

"Sure, I suppose - the guy with the big 'stache," Randy says.

And just where has Wendy been lately? While Ballston Spa Police are not pointing the finger at fast-food foes, they are investigating.

"We think, or I think that they brought him right over here (pointing to one section of his backyard), climbed over there, opened the fence and just left," says Christian Ruggiero.

"This is my yard, and somebody actually came back here and helped themselves to something," Grace says. "It's beyond the Ronald thing, just coming in and helping themselves."

All kidding aside, Grace believes the statue could be worth thousands. She has called eBay to warn them of the hot clown, if he shows up for auction online.

The Ruggieros say he was sort of like a family member, and they say they just want him back, no questions asked - well, perhaps one small punishment for his abductors:

"No more happy meals for them," Grace says.