Small statue of praying girl turns up in SW Houston neighborhood

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A mystery is unfolding in one southwest Houston neighborhood which has been repeatedly inundated by floodwaters.

"You lose so many sentimental things," said Susanna Anderson, whose parents home was among many in the Westbury area which flooded on tax day.

For many it was their second time dealing with flooding in less than a year, including last year's Memorial Day flooding. As the water receded this time, the Anderson's noticed something in the middle of their driveway.

It was an angel, kneeling and praying. It floated there but they have no idea from where it came.

Neighbors thought the Anderson's put it there hoping to stop another flood.

"We need all the help we can get!" said Dawn Anderson.

On the bottom of the statue, a message scrawled in ink provided proof that it meant something to someone.

"February 28, 2001. We miss you and love you so much," the message said. It is signed Harley, Kristen, and Tico.

Dawn Anderson posted pictures on Facebook. She knocked on doors and asked her neighbors if she had seen the statue. All without luck.

She let Eyewitness News take the statue to see if there would be any luck. ABC13's Kevin Quinn knocked on door, after door.

Finally, a break.

"It was in front of that tree over there," said neighbor Beth Cloyd.

She lives three tenths of a mile from Anderson, also on Beaudry Drive. Cloyd says it's not hers but it was in her yard. She tells Eyewitness News it floated to her home following the Memorial Day flooding last year.

"She's getting around! So maybe you can find who owns her," said Cloyd. She'd kept it in her front yard ever since after trying unsuccessfully to find the owner. She still hopes to return this angel home.

"She's obviously traveling for a purpose," she said.

Cloyd wonders if the statue belongs to someone who moved out of the area after the Memorial Day floods.

Both Cloyd and Anderson hope that a little bit of attention from this story might help reunite the statue with its rightful owner.