MUNCIE, Ind. — After having been missing from Muncie for more than 50 years, a statue of an iconic local figure is coming home.

Chris Flook told the Star Press on Wednesday that the statue of Charles Willard, one of downtown Muncie's first business owners, had been found in Chattanooga, Tenn., outside of a museum, and he'll return to Muncie next week.

But how does an 8-foot limestone structure go missing? Not many know. The statue was built by Willard's family and stood on the third-story alcove of the former Willard Building located near where the Old National Bank drive-through is today. But when the building was torn down in the 1960s, the statue fell in the hands of the man from the demolition company. Then it disappeared.

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Bob Good, who Flook calls the "Indiana Jones" of the Delaware County Historical Society, made it his mission to find the lost relic. He spent a year and a half scavenging newspaper articles and joining Facebook groups. After a 45-minute Google pictures search of "statues of Tennessee" in 2015, Good finally found his target.

That's how Willard's statue was found at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel. With no label to distinguish who he is, many visitors thought the statue was of Jefferson Davis.

The late Edmund F. Petty, president of Ball Stores, actually pinpointed the statue at a flea market in Tennessee around the 1980s, but the owner supposedly refused to give it up. Meanwhile, the process for Good to retrieve the statue was successful but still took about three to four years of negotiations.

"The Historical Society is just really grateful to the people down there for allowing us to have our statue back," Good said.

Good is leaving for Tennessee on Tuesday, and the statue is set to arrive in Muncie that following Thursday. Tucker Build, a construction company from Tennessee, has agreed to help transport it. The statue will reside at the Delaware County Historical Society property.

An official "re-unveiling" will take place at ArtsWalk on Oct. 4. Guests who visit the space can see the historic statue and have soup served from a steam engine as part of the downtown event's Soup Crawl.

The Delaware County HIstorical Society is located at 120 E. Washington St.

Audrey Kirby is a reporter at the Star Press. Follow her on Twitter @ajanekirby, and email her story ideas: ajkirby@muncie.gannett.com.