Missing amusement park clown found in sex offender's house

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Louie, a life-sized, ceramic amusement park clown that disappeared from the now defunct Joyland park in Wichita, Kan., almost a decade ago, has been found at the home of a sex offender who once worked at the amusement center, police said Thursday.

Louie, decked out in his colorful garb, was re-introduced to the public at a briefing at the Wichita Police Department. Sporting bright red smiling lips and bright blue eyebrows and cheeks, Louie was propped up in a chair by the podium, his hands planted firmly on the table.

Wichita Police Department Detective Matt Lang, who recalled seeing Louie as a child, told reporters that a phone tip led to the discovery of the 50-year-old clown, KSN reports.

Louie's disappearance had almost turned into an urban legend over the year as locals speculated as to his whereabouts.

For years, the popular, animated clown could be found at Joyland perched in front of a Wurlitzer organ, swaying back and forth with the music.

"He was intriguing – a little scary looking at his face and hands moving and tantalizing," Greg Kite, president of the Historic Preservation Alliance of Wichita and Sedgwick County told The Wichita Eagle. "You always had opposing feelings of excitement and a little fear."

Joyland closed in 2004 after a 55-year-run.

Louie, valued by police at around $10,000, was recovered on Tuesday by police searching a residence in central Wichita belonging to Damian Mayes, a former park employee who built and renovated organs, The Eagle reports.

Mayes, 39, is serving a prison sentence on a 2010 conviction in Harvey County for aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections web site. He is not scheduled for release until 2028.

Facebook postings apparently made inadvertently by Mayes' sister also helped lead police to the Mayes' residence, according to Kite.

Police said they are pursuing two suspects in connection with Louie's abduction.