PITTSTON — A familiar face has vanished from the sidewalk outside the Purple Squirrel Pastry Company.

When the Main Street bakery's staff arrived, one staff member noticed "Squirrely," the hand-crocheted purple squirrel that clings to the signpost just outside the bakery, had been ripped from his typical spot, leaving only a couple strands of purple yarn behind.

"We miss him," bakery owner Cindi Pape said.

The squirrel became a mascot for the bakery after a friend of Pape's crocheted and placed it on the signpost as a "yarn-bombing" installation for the Second Friday Art Walk in May of last year.

"He's been there almost a year," Pape said. "A lot of people would comment on it ... he was kind of a tourist attraction. The kids loved him."

A tube crocheted out of yellow yarn anchored the squirrel to the post. That remains, but Pape said someone would have had to get the squirrel loose.

"All that was left was a tiny little piece of purple yarn," she said.

Pape planned to file a police report on the incident.

"It's vandalism, it's theft," she said. "It's destroying something that was nice in the city, in this art city."

While the staff misses Squirrely, Pape said they have tried to make the best of the situation. They have offered a reward of two dozen cupcakes to anyone with information that leads to the squirrel's return or helps identify the thief behind the "squirrel-napping."

Pape said she would even appreciate photos of what Squirrely might be up to in his absence.

"We're hoping he's at least having a good time," she said.

sscinto@citizensvoice.com

@sscintoCV, 570-821-2048