Ljubljana (AFP) – The first Melania Trump statue in her native Slovenia was destroyed by fire and now its bronze replacement has gone missing, prompting a police investigation.
The life-sized bronze of the US first lady was unveiled near her hometown of Sevnica in 2020, towering over a field on a tree stump, after arson destroyed the previous wooden statue.
According to police and the bronze's creator, American conceptual artist Brad Downey, the statue was chopped off at the ankles and carted away.
"The theft was reported on May 13 and immediately police officers visited the crime scene and launched an investigation," police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik Rangus told AFP on Thursday.
Downey said he learnt about the theft while preparing a new project in Germany and said he was "a bit sad that it's gone".
"My feeling (is) that it has something to do with the new election (of Donald Trump), but who knows, right?" Downey told AFP.
He added when the original statue had been burnt "it didn't feel right" so he decided to replace it with a bronze copy, which he has described as an "anti-monument, anti-propaganda".
The original statue featuring a blue dress and heels had been carved with a chainsaw by local artist Ales Zupevc out of a tree.
The bronze statue was placed on a private field -- fixed with concrete and metal bars -- near Sevnica toward the end of Donald Trump's first term as US president, while he was campaigning for re-election.
Melania's arrival in the White House when her husband Donald became US president raised hope he may one day visit her homeland, which has yet to happen.
Melania left the EU member of two million when it was still part of communist Yugoslavia.
In Sevnica, some 90 kilometres (60 miles) east of the capital Ljubljana, she has inspired numerous products, including cakes and chocolates, named after her.
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