Ronald McDonald statue burned, decapitated

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Officials say vandals burned, decapitated and cut the feet off the namesake statue that had sat outside a Ronald McDonald House in Vermont.

A smiling Ronald McDonald statue occupied a bench outside the Burlington home for years, welcoming sick children and their families who need to be close to the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Executive Director Kristine Bickford tells WPTZ that volunteers moved the remains of the statue into storage because children were traumatized upon seeing it.

She says on three separate occasions vandals burned the statue's face, took off its head and sawed off its feet. The head was discovered dumped near the city's waterfront.

Bickford estimates it will cost $7,500 to buy a new statue and says the house is waiting on an insurance claim. She says the new statue will be kept indoors.