Giant colon found, but police say probe of its disappearance continues

The giant inflatable colon has been found. But the mystery surrounding its theft continues.

Kansas City Police said Monday that they had located the missing colon — a teaching tool that belongs to the Colon Cancer Coalition — in a vacant house in the 7100 block of Virginia Avenue.

But there was little information available about how it migrated a couple miles southeast of the Brookside area, where it was stolen Oct. 18 from the back of a pickup truck.

“No one in custody yet,” the police department tweeted. “Investigation is continuing.”

The department said the 10-foot, 150-pound colon was found thanks to a tip, but didn’t say whether the tipster will be eligible for the $1,000 reward put up by the American Society of Gastroenterology.

The reward was announced Friday. The giant colon was valued at $4,000.

Police officers “are processing the stolen colon for evidence before returning it to the University of Kansas Cancer Center for storage,” according to a news release by the University of Kansas Health System. The KU Cancer Center is part of the Colon Cancer Coalition.

KU Health said “word of the stolen colon spread around the globe,” even catching the attention of celebrities like Katie Couric.

Both Lenexa-based lab testing company Quest Diagnostics and employees of Salix Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in gastrointestinal medications, donated money for replacement colons for the Colon Cancer Coalition’s “Get Your Rear in Gear” campaign.

“One in 20 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer,” said Stacie Moody, the director of Get Your Rear in Gear for the Kansas City area. “Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and 60 percent of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented with colonoscopy screening. Now we have three inflatable colons to help teach about the dangers of colon cancer and benefits of colon screenings.”

Groups or individuals interested in requesting an appearance by the colon can contact the KU Cancer Center at 913-588-1227.

This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 4:24 PM.