BREWER – Two 17-year-olds were charged with the theft of a popular statue of KFC founder Col. Sanders after police said the teenagers were seen in photographs partying with the famous figure.

Brewer police were tipped off to the two after a local film developer remembered processing incriminating film of young people with the 70- to 80-pound fiberglass statue that until Saturday had rested on a bench in front of the KFC restaurant on Wilson Street.

The grandfatherly figure had been bolted to the bench in two places and one foot was bolted to the cement sidewalk. It had to be ripped from the seat to be removed, according to one of the restaurant’s owners.

On Monday, store owner Mike McLaughlin received a phone call from someone at the nearby Shop ‘n Save, letting him know that they had seen someone dumping the statue in the lot behind KFC.

Brewer police were working on a tip of their own. A local photo developer gave authorities the name and phone number of a teenager who on Saturday had brought in film to be developed, said Brewer Detective Sgt. Jay Munson. The photographs showed youths with the statue. The teenager who brought the film in was one of the two charged, Munson said.

Meanwhile, McLaughlin has received about 50 phone calls from people concerned about the statue and wondering whether it had been returned.

In life, Col. Sanders had a fondness for people, McLaughlin said. His fiberglass facsimile proved that the colonel’s popularity continues well after his death, with kids and adults, tourists and locals regularly sitting down beside him. Some came to have pictures taken with him, others just to talk, McLaughlin added.

“There’s always someone sitting out there having their picture taken with him,” McLaughlin said. “Winter, summer, it doesn’t matter.”

The statue of the venerable Col. Sanders is now sitting in a shed, a hand and foot broken off. McLaughlin said he hopes to replace the $1,700 statue but has no plans to return this one to its perch, concerned that the sharp edges left by the abrupt removal could pose a hazard.

“He’s beyond help,” McLaughlin said.

He said he would try to buy a replacement colonel during a restaurant-related convention in Florida in March.

Munson said the two 17-year-olds have been charged with theft and criminal mischief, although others could be charged. Because they are still considered juveniles, their names were not released. Police said one of the teens is from Eddington and the other from Holden. Both attend John Bapst Memorial High School, and they told police that the theft of a statue was part of a high school prank.

One of the teenagers came into the restaurant and apologized, McLaughlin said. The teenager said they weren’t trying to hide the stolen statue, that it was just a joke.