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Out for a swim?
Published Friday, July 30, 2004
By Ann Austin, Tribune staff writer
The fabled "Little Mermaid," re-created in a statue near New Denmark Park, has been missing since Tuesday afternoon.
The mermaid was found toppled over in the water Monday night.
According to police, a call came in Monday night at 8:46 p.m. to report that the mermaid had fallen. Angie Hanna, a resident of Albert Lea, had been walking around the lake when she saw a girl in the water by the mermaid. Hanna helped her out of the water and asked her if she was OK. The girl said she was dizzy and she had a good-sized bump on her head, Hanna said.
The girl told Hanna she had been trying to unhook a line and bobber which had become stuck near the mermaid. She had been using the mermaid's rock to support herself when the mermaid fell on top of her. A boy, who had been riding by on his bike took off his shoes and jumped in the water to help free the girl from the statue, she said. Hanna was not there to witness the event, but said the boy's assistance could have saved the girl's life.
Hanna accompanied the girl home.
Hanna said she was concerned about future accidents, and the stability of the statue.
Albert Lea's park department retrieved the mermaid on Tuesday, which was missing its hand.
"We're lucky we found the hand," said Park Superintendent Joe Grossman.
"It was laying on the bottom of the lake."
According to Grossman, utility worker Larry Schroader worked Wednesday to braise the mermaid's hand back on.
Grossman predicted the mermaid will be back on her rock either Thursday or Friday.
The mermaid, which was situated on pegs that jut out of the rock, will be secured with epoxy and sealed with silicone caulk, Grossman said.
"When it was put in originally, it wasn't fastened in very well," Grossman said.
Once the mermaid is re-installed, residents are urged by Grossman to stay off the mermaid and her rock.
(Contact Ann Austin at ann.austin@albertleatribune.com or 379-3435.)
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