Bookstore bear stolen off roof

The two-toned pink bear that sat atop the Bad Rock Books store on Nucleus Avenue in Columbia Falls was reported missing Oct. 27. Store owner Carol Rocks noticed it was gone sometime over the weekend.

Tom Pullen, who originally bought the bear at a yard sale and installed it on the roof, said he investigated the rooftop theft.

“It’s kind of discouraging,” he said. “The bear was kind of special, a landmark for the store.”

The three-dimensional foam archery target was weather-beaten and heavily used by the time Pullen acquired it about four years ago.

“It had been out in the woods and was full of arrow holes that I patched with latex caulk,” he said.

Pullen painted it Smurf blue, attached it to a frame and weighted it down with a 40-pound sand tube. Then this summer he decided to paint it pink as part of the breast cancer awareness program.

“I took paint chips to different people and they came up with two shades of pink,” he said.

After scoping out the rooftop heist, Pullen figures two or three thieves accessed the book store’s roof by first climbing onto the adjacent barbershop. He found footprints and scratch marks where the thieves dragged the frame to the back end of the building.

“I was afraid they might have damaged the fabric roof material, but it was OK,” he said.

Pullen says he plans on replacing the bear.

“I’m not a quitter,” he said.

Anyone with a similar archery target who wants to donate it to the store can contact them at 406-892-0515. Anyone with tips on the theft can call the police, Pullen said.