Dinosaur statues stolen from Bastrop County museum found at UT fraternity

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The large dinosaur statues stolen from a Bastrop County museum were recovered at a fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin, the business owner said Wednesday.

Linda Nuñez with The Dinosaur Park shared an update that they found the three large dinosaur statues stolen from the property last week near Cedar Creek High School. She said media coverage helped the museum find the missing statues, though not all of them are in the best shape to display again.

Nuñez said a tipster who attended a party Saturday night at the fraternity in question reached out with the information that ultimately led to the statues' recovery. She said the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office worked with the UT Austin police to recover the property at the house located in the 2500 block of Pearl Street.

The stolen statues included the three named Dimetrodon, Dilong and Minmi. The park posted photos of the dinosaurs on its Facebook page to spread the word about finding them. Nuñez said Minmi is intact, while Dimetrodon needs a lot of work to repair and Dilong is destroyed.

"We're happy to have them home and grateful for your help," Nuñez told KXAN Wednesday morning.

The Dinosaur Park advertised that it would provide a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the people who took the dinosaurs. Nuñez said the tipster may receive some of the reward. However, it's unclear right now if anyone is facing charges related to the theft and destruction of property.

KXAN reached out Wednesday morning to UT Austin for comment and additional information, but has yet to receive a response.