Issaquah trying to find owner of mystery totem pole
Nov 28, 2014, 11:21 AM | Updated: 12:24 pm
Matt Mechler with the Issaquah Parks Department stands by a totem pole found in Issaquah Creek. The city hopes to reunite it with its owner. (Issaquah Parks photo)
(Issaquah Parks photo)
The hunt is on in Issaquah for the owner of a huge totem pole that ended up in Issaquah Creek.
A person walking along the creek spotted the 12-foot tall, intricately carved pole last week and called police.
“I went down to check it out and expected it to be a small chain saw carving, and it was a whole lot bigger than that,” says Matt Mechler with the Issaquah Parks Department.
The totem pole has ornate carvings of different animals including an eagle, bear, and beaver, Mechler says.
“We’re hoping that whoever lost it will come and claim it. It’s a pretty intricate pole. It seems like it would be pretty expensive.”
Mechler speculates the pole was mounted in someone’s backyard and it eventually rotted and fell into the creek, where it got washed downstream and out of view amid brush and other debris.
The city isn’t sure what it’ll do with the pole if no one claims it. There have been talks of possibly fixing it up and re-purposing it for public art. But Mechler says they’re hopeful someone comes forward and takes it off their hands.
