Video: Paul Bunyan statue in Bemidji damaged from person climbing

Paul Bunyan statue has broken arm after visitor dangles from hand

Police are investigating after a visitor to the Paul Bunyan statue in Bemidji, Minnesota broke his arm after climbing on him. Video Courtesy: City of Bemidji

BEMIDJI, Minn. (FOX 9) - Newly released video by the Bemidji Police Department shows the moment the city's Paul Bunyan statue was damaged as a person appeared to climb up its arm.

Surveillance video from the parks department showed a person on each arm of the statue attempt to climb up. As one person dangles from the statue's right arm, the arm appears to swing loose and the person falls to the ground. The group then quickly leaves.

According to city officials, the concrete in the arm gave away. The arm is held in place by rebar that runs throughout the statue. For the time being, staff have secured the statue.

The city had already hired a team to complete conservation work this year on- the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues. Due to this incident, the team moved up their schedule and is planning to be on site next week to assess and fix the damage.

The statue of the mythical lumberjack has been in Paul Bunyan Park in Bemidji since 1937.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Minnesota online or at 1-800-222-8477. Tipsters may qualify for a reward up to $1,000. The case remains under investigation by police.