Dozens of koi fish worth $4,000 vanish from a California park, officials say

Someone stole 50 koi valued at $4,000 from the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose, California parks officials reported.

“You just have to be a very evil person to do that to a place that means something like this,” resident Audrey Lucatero told KNTV.

The missing koi were reported to police, the San Jose Parks and Recreation Department said in a Wednesday, May 3, post to Twitter.

The garden was built in 1965 “as a symbol of everlasting friendship between the City of San Jose and its Sister City of Okayama, Japan,” KRON reported.

The city received 300 koi for the garden as a gift, KGO reported. About 220 koi remain.

The prized decorative fish were stolen overnight on two nights, along with a water pump, KNTV reported.

“I was sad and disappointed someone would go to that effort to steal fish from a park that everyone’s enjoying,” Tom Lai, owner of Champion Nishikigoi, a koi and pond supply store, told KABC.

Park officials ask that anyone with information call police at 408-277-8900.

This story was originally published May 4, 2023 at 10:53 AM with the headline "Dozens of koi fish worth $4,000 vanish from a California park, officials say."