One of two hawks stolen from a SoFi Stadium parking lot during a Rams game has been recovered in an Inglewood backyard, it was reported Monday.
The theft at 1001 S. Stadium Drive occurred at 2:22 p.m. Sept. 28 when the suspect drove away in a maroon two-seater Kawasaki Mule utility task vehicle that had been left with the key in the ignition, the Inglewood Police Department reported.
“Affixed to the bed of the UTV were two (brown) Harris’s Hawks housed in green containers,” police said in a statement. “These hawks are used during the games by a falconer in order to deter other birds in the area.”
Bubba the hawk was found Sunday in a backyard, according to his owner, falconer Charlie Cogger.
The other hawk, Alice, remains at large.
Witnesses saw the suspect drive the UTV off the SoFi Stadium property, and security video of the incident was released. The suspect was described as a man wearing a black shirt, a jacket with a white stripe running down the shoulder, black pants and black shoes.
Inglewood Mayor James Butts told ABC7 that the stolen UTV was recovered around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday near Avalon and Century boulevards in South Los Angeles, but the hawks were not inside the vehicle.
Cogger told NBC4 last week that police initially informed him the hawks had been found dead with the vehicle, but he later learned the deceased birds were actually a pair of quails used to feed the hawks.
Anyone with information about the theft was urged to call the Inglewood Police Department at 310-412-5206. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or at www.lacrimestoppers.org.