Police have made a positive identification in the missing inanimate persons case of one Ronald McDonald, statue, who previously resided at a Wisconsin McDonald’s before wandering off/getting kidnapped nine months ago. We might never know what he saw out there in the wide world on his travels, however, as officials say the statue is remaining as silent as a… well, you know.

The restaurant’s mascot was stolen about nine months ago, reports FOX 11, and everyone had pretty much given up waiting for it to be returned.

“Weren’t sure we were going to get him back, but we’re happy to see him. We’re excited to get him back,” said the owner of the McDonald’s.

He got a call this week that their Ronald might’ve been found, but he had to be sure it was the right guy.

“We came down and identified him. Did a positive identification. I could tell right away that it was our Ronald, because he had shown some weathering effects on his shoes. I knew right away it was our statue,” he said.

Ronald showed up at a campground, where officials surmise strangers were “having fun with it. Probably in celebration of the 4th of July,” a chief deputy in the sheriff’s office said. Other campers called the cops out of concern for Ronald.

“When the deputy staff arrived, they encountered an individual who had custody of the statue. He was cooperative. Stated that the statue had been found in a field some time ago. He was cooperative, and then just turned it over,” said the chief deputy.

He won’t be able to settle back into his old home at the restaurant however, as the owner is worried he’ll be stolen again. He’ll be refurbished and trotted out for special occasions.

It’s still unclear who took the statue, considering he probably didn’t actually walk off on his own. OR DID HE?!?

“I think if Ronald could talk, he would probably have quite a story to tell. So I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I guess we can speculate a lot, and make up our own story as time goes on,” the owner said.

Stolen statue returns to Ripon restaurant [Fox 11]

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