An historic bronze cannon was stolen from a park near downtown Wichita, and police tracked down a suspect.
The theft was discovered Thursday at the Spanish-American War Memorial at Central Riverside Park. Wichita patrol officers and detectives with the Property Crimes Task Force found the cannon around 5 p.m. at a home in the 2000 block of North Woodland. Police said the cannon was significantly damaged.
The investigation led to the identification of a 37-year-old Wichita man who was arrested in the 2300 block of North Amidon. He was to be booked into jail for felony theft, vandalism, possession of methamphetamine and outstanding warrants.
The cannon was captured in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The United States presented the cannon to Kansas Governor W.E. Stanley on June 15th, 1900. Wichita Mayor Finlay Ross accepted it on August 6, 1900, and the cannon was assigned to Central Riverside Park. It weighs around 800 pounds and it was cast in Seville, Spain in 1794.
Wichita City Council member Maggie Ballard posted two photos on Facebook, one showing the memorial with the cannon missing and the other is an earlier photo of the cannon.
