Grand Country Sign Returned

You might have seen it before. A sign in the Grand Country Resort of an old man, blushing and pointing to free fudge samples.

The story from Parker Padgett of Ozarks First:

The resort says Wednesday night, a man took that to heart and walked off with the sign.

“Obviously disturbing for some of the staff here, to see someone come in and just swipe it and walk off” Travis Howard said.

Howard says the last three days have been a mix of emotions at the Grand Country Resort. Security footage caught a man stealing the nostalgic sign, one that’s been leaned up against the wall for decades.

“It’s a free-standing sign, that just sits out there, not attached to anything,” Howard said. Howard says signs may not have much monetary value, but the sentimental value to employees is priceless.

“A good friend of our owner Glen Robinson, his name is Andy Miller, who passed away a number of years ago,” Howard said. “Andy had done a lot of work in town. Not just for us but for Silver Dollar City and other businesses. This sign was hand-painted by Andy.”

When the resort posted a video of the theft on social media, a woman reached out saying she knew the man in the video.

Within hours, that’s exactly what happened.

“It was returned unharmed and that’s what we’re most happy about right now”. Harper Howard was working Sunday afternoon when the man caught on camera came back to the resort.

“He was holding this trash bag with something in it and he asked if I worked here and I said yes, and he uncovered the item in the trash bag and it was the sign,” Howard said.

The resort never filed a police report but believed the community would step in to help. “The person that took it did return it, so he did the right thing in the end.” Travis Howard said.