A metal tiger stolen from outside a Tucson attraction this week has been returned, its rightful owner said.
A truck pulled up to Trail Dust Town around 1:30 p.m. Thursday with the tiger inside, the owner said.
The driver said he’d bought it at a junk yard without knowing its origin and decided to return it once he found out, said owner Jessica Bates Wills.
She has no way of knowing if that's the truth, and doesn't really care now that all is well, she said.
"It's so unexpected and delightful, a great surprise ending," Wills said of the outcome.
Wills had promised in her pleas on social media not to press criminal charges if the tiger was returned in relatively good condition.
"It was no questions asked, " she said of the return. " I kept up my end of the deal."
"I'm happy to report it was not Carole Baskin," Wills joked, referring to public speculation that the theft was somehow linked to the hit Netflix series "Tiger King."
The tiger, which weighs 300 to 400 pounds and had been on the property for about 20 years, was discovered missing early Monday, April 27.
Wills said it looked virtually the same upon its return except that much of its paint had been removed.
The piece is now in storage until it can be fixed up and displayed more securely, she said
The unnamed tiger became a virtual celebrity as word of his disappearance spread online with hundreds of shares of news stories.
Many social media users posted snapshots of their kids, or of themselves when they were kids, perched atop the big cat.
"We definitely credit the response from the people of Tucson for the tiger being returned to us," Wills said.
