The owner of the museum where the statue of Gilles Villeneuve was stolen around ten days ago in Berthierville is increasingly losing hope of finding it intact and wishes to be able to raise the colossal sum necessary to replace it.
“It’s been 10 days and nothing has bounced back. At this point, I think it’s more about stopping the criminals than recovering the statue,” says Alain Bellehumour, general director of the Gilles-Villeneuve museum.
After 11 days without having found the bronze statue of the famous Quebec racing driver stolen on the night of October 30 to 31, Mr. Bellehumour believes that the criminals have probably already melted it to sell the metal.
Photo Agence QMI, SIMON DESSUREAULT
“We have not heard back from the police,” he said.
The Sûreté du Québec, which is leading the investigation to elucidate this theft, had no new developments to communicate on Sunday on this sordid theft.
A $100,000 replacement
Created in 1984, the work cost “between $20,000 and $25,000,” explains Mr. Bellehumour.
However, to redo it today, it would be necessary to pay no less than $100,000, according to estimates that the museum has made in recent days.
“We would have to redo the base, we would add security, including exterior cameras,” which would increase the bill, continues the general director.
This represents a colossal sum for a small museum which operates mainly thanks to volunteers and whose annual budget amounts to only $250,000.
Photo provided by MUSÉE GILLES-VILLENEUVE
Thus, Mr. Bellehumour doubts whether he will be able to find the funds necessary for a possible replacement.
“We have a museum to bring to life. We can’t devote the majority of our time to raising money when it takes money to keep the museum running. If there is a generous donor, it becomes easy. But if you have to find 1000 donors, that’s another matter.”
If it decides to launch such a campaign, the museum will probably wait until next year, because the approaching holiday season is not the most conducive to fundraising, adds Mr. Bellehumour.
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Ready to help
Entrepreneurs, who offered a reward of $12,000 to anyone who returned the statue, also said they were ready to help and inject the same sum into the project.
“It is certain that we will participate in the financing [d’une éventuelle] new statue,” says Frédéric Gamache, of Azimut POS, who has joined forces with the gasoline distributor B&G Race Fuels Canada and the car dealership GM Paillé.
Mr. Gamache believes that “it will not be a problem” to raise the necessary funds, since he says in particular that he has been contacted by several entrepreneurs who would also be ready to participate.
“If we don’t find it, there will definitely be a replacement statue. It’s Gilles Villeneuve. He is a symbol and a hero of Quebec.”
