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Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue Vandalized!

The graffiti stopped Town Lake runners dead in their tracks on Friday morning. The eight-foot statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan at Auditorium Shores was found defaced. Vandals spray-painted the icon's face in red and plastered his front with the word "poser." There were also obscenities tagged on the backside and on the statue’s pediment.

The statue is famous, a local attraction, and visitors were shocked to see it so disrespected. Vandals didn't just deface a landmark, they tagged a legend and, based on the reactions of passers-by took the pride and joy out of Austin for a few hours.

"We're from Florida. We came for the holidays to come visit family. We knew this was here. So, we took a walk over. I'm not gonna take pictures of it now, that's for sure," visitor Chris West said.

Regular runners on the hike and bike trail were outraged by the crime.

"It's such a beautiful thing. I'm an artist and I really appreciate what this is. I'm sure that everybody, obviously, everybody doesn't appreciate what that it. It's terrible. It's very unfortunate," jogger Anne Ducote said. The vandal or vandals struck very early on Friday. Parks police noticed it first.

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"It's a shame that individuals came out to vandalize this symbol of Austin being the music capital. But, again, we will restore it to its original shape," parks spokesman Victor Ovalle said.

A crew had the statue power washed by midday. Parks officials say it'll be hard to nab the culprits since no witnesses reported the crime.

This is the second time the statue was defaced. The first time was in 1999. A radio station raised reward money and the criminals ended up getting caught.

The Parks and Recreation Department will continue working with the city's graffiti removal department to restore the statue to its original form.

Police are investigating but officials believe it’s a one-time incident.

Any information on this case or other suspicious activity should be reported to the city's graffiti hotline at (512) 854-4591.

12/24/2005 12:00 PM By: Crestina Chavez