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Summary The performing group made a plea for the public's help in locating the missing puppets.
Thieves broke into a performing arts organisations van and stole three puppets worth $10,000, cutting the companys cast in half in the middle of a popular tour and prompting workers to frantically dig through trash bins in search of the missing characters.Maui Academy of Performing Arts officials said the cloth-covered foam puppets were created in 2009 by puppeteer Frank Kane, who once worked for Jim Henson. The group made a plea for the publics help in locating the missing puppets as workers searched roads and trash bins for any sign of them.Theyre really not of any value to whoever took them, but theyre of great value to us, executive and artistic director David Johnston said. We scoured the area looking for them.The theft occurred as the company prepared to fly to Oahu to perform The Further Adventures of Tikki Tikki Tembo for elementary and preschool children, an adaptation of a popular Chinese folk tale that is seen by 45,000 kids a year across Hawaii.This is one of our main events, Johnston said. Its a pretty strong income stream for us.
