Zombie missing in west Pasco

A member of the walking dead has vanished from a west Pasco yard.

The zombie skeleton that welcomes visitors to the Lovejoy home went missing this week. But family members don’t believe he walked away on his own.

“We believe he was stolen Monday night,” Rachel Lovejoy said. “We have so much stuff in our yard, we didn’t notice him missing right away.”

The loss is hardly a zombie apocalypse for the family decorations. A cemetery is in the front yard, and severed heads are impaled on the fence. Some larger items, such as fog machines and automated props, are saved for Halloween night.

But the zombie has sentimental value. The family worked for hours on the skeleton, melting plastic sheets on it to make it different shades of brown, Lovejoy said.

Making the loss tougher for Rachel and her husband, Burt, has been explaining it to their daughters, ages 6 and 3. Rachel said they just don’t understand.

A Facebook post about the theft was shared 230 times by Thursday in hopes of helping to track down the zombie thief.

Burt Lovejoy tried to notify police, but ended up leaving the station after waiting for an hour, he said.

“The police department was less than helpful, to say the least,” he said.

The family is offering a $50 reward for the zombie’s safe return. It also can be dropped off in the Lovejoys’ front yard in Montgomery Estates, no questions asked.

“We really just want him back,” Rachel said.

The family’s neighborhood typically sees 100 trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Rachel said no one has complained about their gruesome creation.

“We’ve never had any problems,” she said. “We’ve had nothing but compliments on our yard.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Zombie missing in west Pasco."