SCOTTSDALE — There's mystery at a Valley park as a neighborhood project runs into a roadblock. Painted rocks put on display, by members of the community, are now missing. Neighbors are calling on each other to show their artistic sides and fill the void.
Tom Lancione has taken several afternoon walks through Chaparral Park over the years.
"So, it is kind of special. It is nice. It's got something for everyone,” said Lancione.
Paths to walk dogs or run, ducks to feed and, as of a month ago, a creative take on rocks for people to see.
"We thought it would be a fun thing for park-goers to enjoy. And, they have. I have seen them here looking at them and taking pictures,” added Lancione.
Lancione, his wife C.J. Allen, and at least one other neighbor started lining painted rocks along the park's sidewalk near 82nd Street in October.
"I'm a NY Giants fan, so of course I like the one for the Giants. And, the Halloween ones were really clever,” added Lancione.
"It wasn't finished. We were hoping it would go on and on and on,” said Allen.
"We got up to 37 rocks. We did not expect them all to stay here because we know some people like a souvenir or two,” added Lancione.
But, the husband and wife are scratching their heads after more than a dozen disappeared overnight Thursday,
"It was very interesting. You know? You could come down every day to check and see if there was a new one," added Allen.
The co-creators of this 'rock snake' had hoped the artwork would extend farther through the park and send a message.
"In times where a lot of bad things are going around, we thought it would be something to give people a good feeling or a little uplift,” added Lancione.
ABC15 asked Lancione whether he thought someone took the rocks as part of the Kindness Rocks Project — a viral trend where colorful rocks are left for others to find and collect — or, if he thinks someone just took them as a prank.
"I was trying to think about it, but don't know if a dozen could disappear overnight like that without it being a few people or someone with a little wagon or something like that,” added Lancione.
With so many rocks gone, Lancione and Allen are hoping people will see this story and return the ones that were taken. Or, bring even more.
