Cherished ‘Tube Dude’ sculpture stolen from Paradise

There's trouble in Paradise.

The town near St. John's, Newfoundland has been shaken after a beloved community member was kidnapped, according to the St. John's Telegram. His name is Tube Dude and they want him back.

The owner says his 7-foot-tall, yellow metal stick man disappeared from the end of his driveway on June 6. And things just aren't the same without him.

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Tube Dude greets everyone from the end of his owner's driveway with his permanent smile and his waving hand, locals told the newspaper. But on Tuesday, an image of Tube Dude featured on the Telegram's front page with a story about his disappearance.

Tube Dude's kidnapping led his owner, Mike Corcoran, to post an advertisement on Kijiji offering a reward for the return of his metallic friend. He told the Telegram people have responded to the ad, not to send him tips, but to express their sadness that Tube Dude hasn't been there to wave at them when they pass by.

The quirky sculpture is the invention of Scott Gerber from Sarasota, Florida, who ran a yacht-building business until 2010, when struggling sales led him to close the company, according to the Herald-Tribune.

He found a new calling designing metal stick figures, which he named Tube Dudes. Gerber told Florida Trend his estimated sales exceed $2.5 million a year.

But in Newfoundland and Labrador, only a few Tube Dudes hang around, and one of them, somewhere, is a captive.

The newspaper reported this is the second time Corcoran's Tube Dude has been a kidnapping target. The last time, Corcoran was able to catch the thieves as they drove off with the metal man in their vehicle.

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But his daughter was so upset about the attempted theft that she "lost her faith in people," Corcoran said.

This time, he's asking for information from anyone who spots his lanky mailbox holder.

Dude, who steals the Tube Dude?