BUCYRUS - The statue of Colonel William Crawford outside the Crawford County Courthouse has been decapitated, county employees confirmed Friday. Its head is missing.

Located in a niche on the left side of the Mansfield Street doors of the courthouse, the statue depicts Colonel William Crawford, for whom Crawford County is named.

Crawford was a soldier and leader in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars and was killed by Native Americans 79 years before the start of the Civil War.

Because the courthouse is owned by the county, the case is being handled by the Crawford County Sheriff's Office, according to Sheriff Scott Kent.

Officers aren't sure when the vandalism took place, Kent said.

"We're still reviewing the footage," he said.

Attorney Joel Spitzer said he was talking with a contractor outside his law office across the street from the courthouse around noon Friday when the pair noticed the statue’s head was missing and called police.

Spitzer said he is uncertain when the vandalism occurred but has photos showing the statue’s head was still there as late as Aug. 20.

“It’s actually quite shocking to see this in little old Bucyrus, where we really have little connection to what’s going on in the south… William Crawford was from the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War, so I thought he was fairly safe,” he said.

Spitzer said it’s unclear whether the statue was damaged “either by political beliefs or by ignorance” but said he found it to be “a pitiful display of what someone thinks or feels” that would have been better addressed through debate or discourse.

“I think it might be some sense of carryover from Charlottesville, and it may not be someone who knew the history of Colonel Crawford but it may be monkey see, monkey do,” Spitzer said.

Spitzer said he is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone who provides information about the vandalism that leads to an arrest and conviction.

“I consider the courthouse a true gem of the county,” he said. “So many people work hard to keep things nice and if something like that happens, people need to be held accountable.”

Whoever committed the vandalism will at least face a fifth-degree felony since the statue is on government property, but that could change based on the value of the statue, according to Crawford County Prosecutor Matt Crall.

"It's still under investigation," Crall said.

If the damage proves to be valued at more than $7,500, Crall said the charge would increase to a fourth-degree felony.

Ted Bruner, a retired educator of 37 years, served as a teacher, middle school principal and superintendent at Colonel Crawford Local Schools and often performed living history portrayals of Crawford for students and the community.

Bruner describes Crawford as a lifelong friend of George Washington, who grew up with Washington, surveyed with him, fought alongside him and later took orders from him.

“Just about anywhere you could find Washington, Crawford was there with him,” Bruner said.

Following the Gnadenhutten massacre, also known as the Moravian massacre, Washington ordered Crawford to lead a militia to quell Indian raids.

Native Americans were raiding settler’s homes in Pennsylvania in retaliation for the massacre, in which nearly 100 Indians died. Crawford did not take part in that massacre.

In fact, Bruner said, Crawford was friends with many Native Americans.

But after Crawford was separated from his men during a retreat from the Battle of Sandusky, Indians captured him within the area that is now Crawford County, tortured and killed him.

Though they were looking to capture another colonel named David Williamson, who was known as an Indian killer, they found Crawford and made an example of him, according to Bruner.

“Crawford was basically a hero. Now there are some people that would tell you that’s not true, but they’re not reading the right books,” Bruner said. “He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time… Anybody that knows history would know he is not a controversial figure.”

“Yeah, he killed some Indians, but he also killed some British, and he saved some Indians too,” Bruner said.

Bruner said he chalks the vandalism of the statue up to “probably alcohol or just stupidity.”

