The small South Island community of Brightwater, near Nelson, is in disbelief after a statue of legendary scientist Lord Ernest Rutherford was stolen.
The thief rode a bike and used an unusual, hands-on technique to steal the statue.
A couple of bronze boots That's all that's left of an iconic and much-loved statue of our most famous scientist, Lord Ernest Rutherford.
The late-night heist was caught on camera. The determined thief turned up on a bike armed with a rope and spent half an hour rocking the statue back and forth until it snapped.
"I've never come across anything like it before," said Constable Jamie White.
Eleven-year-old Leah Rose Robinson was the first to spot it missing while waiting for her school bus on Friday morning.
"He was just gone and I was like, 'Okay, I'm gonna take a photo and send it to my mum'," she said.
The statue was of Lord Rutherford as a boy. He was born in Brightwater but his work to split the atom won him the Nobel Prize and the nickname the father of nuclear physics.
The memorial to him was built 30 years ago with the help of Corey Brookman.
"I remember we were having a few beers when we put it in… I think that sucks, it's terrible," he said.
The whole community is shocked to see their most famous son gone.
"There's been a sense of anger, disappointment a bit of disbelief as well," Const White said.
Police and locals hope the bronze statue hasn't been melted down and are asking the thief to return it back where he belongs.
