WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After a child's plea to the city three weeks ago, West Lafayette installed signs around the area to warn traffic of turtles crossing the street. As of Tuesday, one of those signs is missing — and the city is planning to press charges.

A blank post is all that's left of the "Turtle X-ing" sign on Cherry Lane, which was placed there in early August after 8-year-old Jack Wietbrock wrote a letter to West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis, requesting that the turtles "need our help." Jack, a second-grader at West Lafayette Elementary, said when the signs went up that he cared "about the whole Earth and everyone on it."

Jack’s mother Michelle Wietbrock said she was saddened by the theft, but grateful that she lives in such a wonderful community. She also does not plan on telling Jack about the sign, but will probably let him know Cherry Lane would be getting a new one instead.

“I hope people continue to focus on original story and be inspired by it,” Wietbrock said. “We had great feedback from everyone here and it spread everywhere. I hope people continue to find joy in that.”

There are three additional signs besides the one stolen on Cherry Lane, but that was the original sign. The city is planning to press charges if they identify the person, or people, responsible. Stealing a street sign is a theft, and can be considered a felony depending on the value of the sign.

Dennis said it was a "shame" to have the sign stolen, particularly after a campaign was made by a young community member. Dennis said a replacement for the sign should be up soon. The city has a machine that can generate the sign, but it depends on how many blank signs of the exact shape they have available.

"He went to the effort of writing a personal letter to me to correct a problem that affected him," Dennis said. "He saw where turtles were being run over by cars and wanted to take an aggressive step to get that solved. We encourage citizens from all ages to get involved and better the community."

Emily DeLetter is a news reporter for Journal & Courier. Contact her at (765)420-5205 or via email at edeletter@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyDeLetter.