Rest easy, America, because police in Wichita, Kan. have recovered Louie the clown robot after it disappeared from a new-defunct amusement park about a decade ago.
Police found Louie the clown robot inside the home of sex criminal Damian Mayes, reports local NBC affiliate KSNW-TV.
Mayes, 39, was convicted in 2010 on two counts of molesting a child. He currently resides in prison.
Prior to his conviction, Mayes worked at Joyland, the amusement park, building and repairing organs.
Louie’s clown robot job was to play a Wurlitzer organ at Joyland.
Police said they never gave up on finding Louie. The case was broken thanks to a phoned-in tip that the clown robot was inside Mayes’s home.
“It was quite a shock, because we had visited that residence before. They didn’t expect us back, they thought it was a done deal, closed, forgotten case, but like I said, through social media and a lot of interest not only in Joyland but the clown in particular, kind of kept it alive,” Wichita Police Department detective Matt Lang told KSNW.
Police who stopped by the Mayes household found Louie right there in plain view. The owners verified that the clown robot was, in fact, Louie, and not some other clown robot.
Louie is about 50 years old and worth $10,000, police say.
The district attorney indicated plans to bring felony charges against Mayes and another suspect for the clown robot theft.
Joyland was opened in Wichita in 1949 and remained continuously in business until closing in 2004. It featured a wooden roller coaster and a couple dozen other rides.
The park re-opened under new ownership for a single season in 2006 but then closed again.
Follow Eric on Twitter. Like Eric on Facebook. Send story tips to erico@dailycaller.com.