A 25-foot inflatable duck named Joy disappeared over the weekend, as mysteriously as it arrived, after bringing days of delight to a seaside Maine community.
The rubber ducky was removed from the harbor sometime Saturday, likely because of concerns about Tropical Storm Henri, Belfast Harbor Master Katherine Given was quoted as saying in the Bangor Daily News.
Despite the weather concerns, Given said, people were upset to see the duck leave the harbor.
The duck’s arrival in the harbor two weekends ago was, and remains, a mystery. But Given said she received an anonymous letter from someone claiming to be responsible.
“JOY simply is fowl play. In this day in age of such bitter divisiveness in our country, we wanted to put forth a reminder of our commonalities instead of our differences,” the letter said. “Nothing embodies childhood more than being in a warm bath with your rubber ducky – the joy of not having a care in the world other than having to remember to wash behind our ears.”
Will the ducky return? That’s not known — but the letter alluded to the duck landing somewhere else after Belfast.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.