Giant Earlysville hot dog returned after kidnapping

Harry the Hot Dog’s month-long kidnapping ordeal is over.

Harry, a beloved 6-foot, 200-pound anthropomorphic hot dog statue that resides outside an Earlysville grocery store, was stolen the night of April 9.

He was returned - albeit severely damaged - to All Good Groceries on Tuesday evening.

Albemarle County police had discovered the cartoonish hot dog sculpture buried in a wooded area adjacent to the Cedar Hill Mobile Home Park off U.S. 29 north of Charlottesville.

“He was buried alive,“ said the store’s owner, Josh Blanthorn. “Thankfully, he has been rescued.“

Over the 27 days that Harry the Hot Dog went missing, the grocery store obtained a 2-foot replica. The mini-me version of Harry was dubbed “Little Frank,“ the elder hot dog’s son.

Little Frank held a sign for weeks that asked, “Have you seen my daddy?“

Wednesday morning, Little Frank stood resolutely beside his battered father.

Harry’s two little hot dog arms have been broken off. Gone are his bottles of ketchup and mustard. His paint is chipped. Dirt, leaves, pine needles and other detritus fill his every nook and cranny.

“He looks worse for wear,“ said Darrin Ball, a landscaper who dropped by the store Wednesday for a soda. “It’s shocking.“

Crud was packed around Harry’s eyeballs and tongue, as well as inside his enormous bun, sneakers and American flag wrapper. One of his shoelaces was missing.

“I can’t believe they even took his shoelaces,“ said Christina Rigney, a cashier at All Good Groceries.

Before the as-yet-named ne’er-do-wells snatched Harry, the hot dog’s expression was one of eager anticipation. He was squirting ketchup onto his head and licking his lips, as if to imply that he was preparing to consume himself.

Now, with his arms and condiments gone, Harry’s face seems to instead convey a grim determination to survive. His dirt-framed eyeballs make him look like he has been crying.

“Buried at a trailer park? That’s horrible,“ said Marjorie Martin, an Earlysville resident who shops at All Good. “Poor guy.“

Blanthorn pledged to rebuild his store’s mascot, which is worth an estimated $2,000.

“He’ll be like the bionic hot dog,“ he said. “He’ll be bigger, stronger, faster.“

Investigators found Harry with information from a tipster who called the Crimestoppers hotline, said Lt. Greg Jenkins of the Albemarle County Police Department. Jenkins was one of the officers who rescued Harry from his premature grave.

“We unburied it,“ Jenkins said. “Dug it out with our hands.“

Blanthorn acquired Harry the Hot Dog, which is made of fiberglass and steel, from B&B, an antiques and novelty shop in Myrtle Beach, S.C., that is run by Blanthorn’s father-in-law. Harry replaced the grocery store’s previous mascot, Lunchtime Larry, a mechanic holding a lunch-board sign, after Larry was knocked down and broken in a windstorm.

Harry was seen as a welcome change from Larry, who was described by an employee as “really, really creepy.“

When police returned Harry the Hot Dog by truck to the grocery store Tuesday evening, the scene was joyous. Employees rushed to the store’s loading dock to help unload him.

“Everybody was like, ‘The hot dog’s here!‘“ said Lauren Berry, who runs the store’s coffee bar. “When we saw him, though, he was looking pretty rough.“

The anonymous tipster who led police to Harry’s grave will receive a $100 reward from the grocery store.

Police have four suspects in the case, but had not yet made any arrests as of late Wednesday afternoon, Jenkins said. The suspects are likely to face grand larceny and felony vandalism charges, he said. The alleged weiner-nappers can expect a tough grilling by police.

“These people will be brought to justice for their dogged ways,“ Blanthorn said.