NOVATO, Calif. -- Police in Novato are looking for a car that was stolen with a 10-foot statue of Mahatma Gandhi inside.

The statue was created by Jes Richardson, a traveling peace activist and schoolteacher in Novato, in 2003 with help from students at San Marin High. Richardson used it to protest the war in Iraq, but has also taken it to other events around the country.

He told the Marin Independent Journal the statue's head -- made with papier-m�ch� and a beach ball -- was in the cabin of his white 1994 Honda when the vehicle was stolen this week. The white-robed body was in a rooftop carrier.

Novato police Lt. Keith Heiden said the vehicle was stolen between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m. Wednesday. Police have not identified any suspects.