It was returned before it was even missed, but a sculpture owned by the Quinlan Visual Arts Center has caused a bit of a commotion at the nonprofit arts organization.

The sculpture showed up Monday morning on the steps of the Quinlan. Normally, the small but heavy cast concrete torso stands among some bushes at the old entrance of the building, facing Green Street.

"It was on our front step this morning with a note on it," said Amanda McClure, executive director of the Quinlan. "And the note said ‘Please return to the Quinlan Art Center' with a little heart and ‘Happy Holidays.'" It's scrawled in unsteady handwriting and another note on the page, in different handwriting, says "Found this in the bamboo forest @ Brenau. 12/31."

The whole incident is just strange, McClure said.

Through a little detective work via Facebook, McClure was able to find those responsible for returning the statue. Larry Cook and his three daughters - Sara, 12, Katie, 9, and Ally, 8 - found the sculpture while on a walk over the weekend in the bamboo forest behind Brenau University.

At first, the girls said they thought the Quinlan had put it there, or that it was some sort of art project or decoration, said their mother Emilie Cook.

"They were just walking, and it was right in the middle of the path," Cook said.

The girls' father told them the "right thing to do would be to put it in the back of the truck ... and bring it to the Quinlan," Cook said.

The girls agreed, but since the Quinlan wasn't open, they left it on the steps, and Larry Cook wrote on the note where they had found it, Emilie Cook said.

The family hasn't solved the mystery of who took it in the first place, though.

Neither has the Gainesville Police Department.

Kevin Holbrook, spokesman with the Gainesville Police, said though the incident may seem like a harmless prank, it is a crime.

"It is theft, and depending on the dollar amount, it could be a felony case," Holbrook said.

Police officers will be stepping up patrols of the area. Holbrook added that this type of incident doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it is often during times when school is out.

The torso, by local artist Philip Zoercher, has been displayed in the location for years and is mounted on a 4-foot spike. McClure said she can't believe someone was able to get the piece, which she said weighs at least 40 pounds, out of the ground. A line of dirt shows the sculpture was planted deep into the ground.

"They would have had to lean on this thing and wiggle it around quite a bit to get it out of the ground," McClure said. "Now there's this hole where it was."

McClure said the arts center plans to put the piece back in its rightful location in the spring, though the Quinlan will have to find the resources to reinstall the piece with a more secure foundation, something not planned in the budget.

"The way I feel about it is if it's back and it's not damaged in any way, then I feel like we're lucky," she said.