Inflatable SpongeBob stolen from Corvallis Burger King
"He's about 4 feet across, 3 feet thick, with his hands up he'd be 10 feet tall," Dave MacDonald said, describing the missing blow-up. "He's square, with brown pants and kind of squishy, because he's a sponge."
By some counts, over 100 inflatable SpongeBob likenesses have been stolen from Burger Kings across the country — including an estimated 16 in Oregon — after they took their perch in the fast-food restaurants as tie-ins to a recent movie starring the cartoon hero.
Shoeprints left on the wall of the Corvallis Burger King showed that the thief, or thieves, climbed up the front side of the building and then "just flopped him over and deflated him," MacDonald said.
The character had already been auctioned off for charity, raising $100 for the American Cancer Society.
Now, with no goods to deliver, no payment will be received for the charity, MacDonald said.
On eBay Tuesday evening, 23 of the inflatable SpongeBobs were up for bidding, some advertised as "party balloons" from Burger King.
Last week, Burger King announced a reward for the return of any SpongeBob stolen before that date: a year's worth of Whopper sandwiches.
"We are concerned about our missing, massive sponges and the effect their absence is having on SpongeBob fans, employees, children and parents everywhere," a recent press release from the fast food company read. "We hope the reward will help these AWOL SpongeBobs find their way home."