Clown from amusement park found in sex offender's home

WICHITA, KS -- A ceramic clown that went missing from a closed Wichita amusement park more than a decade ago has been found at the home of a sex offender who once worked at the park.

The return of Louie the Clown, the mascot of the Joyland amusement park, was announced during a media briefing Thursday.

Wichita police say officers found the clown statue Tuesday at a home of 39-year-old Damian Mayes, who is serving a prison sentence for a 2010 conviction for aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy

Mayes built and repaired organs at the park before he was charged.

Louie disappeared from the Joyland property in 2005 or 2006, but it wasn't reported stolen until 2010.

Police say that the nearly 50-year-old clown is worth about $10,000.