Toy armadillo stolen in NY after Nelson concert

[September 25, 2013]  PORT CHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- A missing toy armadillo with a connection to Willie Nelson has sparked a search in the New York suburbs.

A stuffed armadillo beloved by a member of Nelson's crew was stolen from the stage at The Capitol Theatre, in Port Chester, after a Nelson concert last Thursday, theater general manager Tom Bailey said.

Grainy video shows a woman walking onto the stage as the crew packs up, boldly grabbing the armadillo and sauntering off with it, he said. The critter is known as Ol' Dillo, he said, and is a treasured possession of Nelson's monitor engineer, Aaron Foye.

Theater workers looked through more video on Tuesday in hopes of identifying the woman, Bailey said.

A posting on Nelson's Facebook page asks for help finding the thief. And a commenter says, "We hang armadillo thieves in Texas."

Nelson's publicist, Elaine Schock, told The Journal News she was unaware of Ol' Dillo and didn't know it had been filched.

"When you go to a Willie Nelson show," she said, "the last thing you notice is an armadillo."

Nelson, singer of such hits as "Always on My Mind" and "On the Road Again," postponed his Wednesday concert in Carmel, Ind., according to his website, which didn't cite a reason.

[Associated Press]

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