Cape May, N.J., police are investigating after a colorful Humpty Dumpty statue was forcibly removed from a miniature golf course and dumped down the street.
Surveillance video released by the department shows two men stopping at Ocean Putt Golf at about 4 a.m. on Sunday. One of the men is seen climbing a fence to enter the course, grabbing the statue, rocking it back and forth and pulling it off its foundation before the pair walk away. The statue was later found several properties away and was damaged.
The figure depicts a smiling Humpty Dumpty with a large white head, red cheeks, a yellow bow tie, a blue jacket and gray pants. Ocean Putt Golf’s Instagram page showed the statue positioned above one of the course’s holes earlier this year.
Cape May police detectives are asking the public for help identifying the two men, who appear in multiple videos posted on the department’s Facebook page. No arrests have been announced. A message was left at a phone number listed for Ocean Putt Golf asking for comment.
The incident prompted a lighthearted reference to the nursery rhyme in police and community posts: in the rhyme, Humpty Dumpty falls off a wall and “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men” cannot put him back together again. Authorities are treating the removal and damage of the property as a criminal matter and are seeking tips from anyone who may have seen the men or has additional information.
Investigators did not immediately release further details on the extent of the damage or whether any surveillance from neighboring businesses captured additional angles. Anyone with information is asked to contact Cape May police through the department’s public tip channels.
The case drew local attention for its unusual subject matter but remains a routine investigation into property removal and vandalism. Police continue to review footage and solicit public assistance as they work to identify and locate the men seen in the recordings.