HAY RIVER - A stolen sign from the Zoo - a landmark building in Hay River - has been recovered.

Garth Mackie, the former owner of the Zoo, said he received a call on May 8 from someone who had been involved in the heist.

Garth Mackie and the Zoo sign. The sign was returned after being stolen May 13, 2010 - Photo by Paul Bickford

The sign was stolen in early April from outside the closed bar, which opened in the late 1950s and operated until about five years ago. While the sign itself had only been in place for a dozen years, its disappearance upset many people with fond memories of the bar.

Mackie said the caller complained that possessing the sign was a hassle because of all the publicity - including a Facebook page - surrounding its disappearance.

Four men ranging in age from 18 to 22 took the sign, he said, adding they had been under pressure from people they knew to return it.

"Someone had apparently tried to steal it from them," said Mackie, who knows the identities of the four men. They were under the mistaken impression the Zoo building was to be torn down.

Mackie said the men used a wrench to remove the sign, which was hanging by chains from a beam high off the ground. The sign simply dropped into the snow and was undamaged, he said.

"It's a real sturdy sign."

Mackie won't be taking the matter to the police.

"We're just happy to have the sign back, and all is good," he said, adding he was not surprised by the interest the theft generated in Hay River.

"I know what the building means to people," said Mackie.

Northern Transportation Company Ltd. (NTCL), the owner of the Zoo building, will be giving the sign to the Hay River Heritage Centre.

Mackie sold the Zoo building to NTCL nearly five years ago.