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A Sherwood Park resident found something in their yard they weren't expecting -- a pigeon with white and pink feathers.
Leah Guderjan and her children were walking through their backyard last Wednesday (Oct. 26) to gather Halloween decorations when her oldest stumbled across the bird.
Guderjan was in disbelief when her daughter told her that the bird was white with pink feathers.
"I was like, okay, now [my kid is] just being crazy. A pink and white pigeon?" Guderjan said. "Sure enough, I came around the side of our garage and there the poor little thing was all hunkered down on the ground next to our woodpile looking pretty sad."
Guderjan recognized the bird as a racing pigeon after her family saw some near Camrose earlier in the summer.
They soon found out that the bird was stolen from an Edmonton yard just a few days prior.
According to Edmonton Police Service (EPS), a man entered the yard with a medium-sized cage and left about a minute later with a cage full of pigeons.
“The birds are reportedly competition pigeons worth about $13,500, and their owner is hoping to get them back,” EPS said in a Tweet.
Overall, 45 pigeons were stolen, and one of them made its way into the Guderjan's yard.
Guderjan made some calls and a Facebook post before getting in contact with the owner of the pigeon which was eventually returned.
More of the stolen pigeons have been found in the area, with a couple being discovered behind Joey's restaurant in Sherwood Park.
EPS is still looking for any information that could lead to the arrest of the pigeon thief.