MCCALL - Vandals have destroyed the ice sculpture that won first place in the McCall Winter Carnival ice sculpture contest.
The owner of Ruby's Kitchen, where the sculpture was on display, discovered the damage Sunday morning. When he came into work, he said he found pieces of the ice scattered all about.
"I just kind of stood there for about 10 minutes just kind of sad a little angry," said Ruby's Kitchen owner Chris Braden. "Really disappointed more than anything else.
"The community here has been so supportive of us, I just can't see anybody from town wanting to do this," he added.
The sculpture was of an eight-dog sled team. It took multiple blocks of ice and days to complete.
It's one of the 38 ice sculptures that are on display for the 10-day festival. There are plans to attempt to fix the damage.
John Schulz, the artist who created the sculpture, says he tried to piece it back together like "Humpty Dumpty," but the weather was too warm and it wouldn't freeze. He plans to try again over the next few days.
"It doesn't bother me as much when kids get out of control and break something, but when it's a hack job and someone comes and maliciously knocks it all down, then it really bothers you," Schulz said.
The McCall Winter carnival draws tens of thousands of people to the town each year and brings in over $25 million to the local economy.
EVENT GUIDE: 2018 McCall Winter Carnival
