Video captures thief stealing artwork from Walker's Point bus shelter -- then using a bus to get away

Not only did the brazen thief tear down the one-of-a-kind art piece entitled "Colorful Serape" that graced a Milwaukee County Transit System bus shelter on South 6th Street and West National Avenue.

He then had the audacity to flee on a county bus, transit system spokesman Brendan Conway said Friday.

“Why would someone tear down something so beautiful?" asked Conway, who helped launch the MCTS Bus Shelter Art Project.

“Whoever this man is, it’s unlikely he’s going to get away with it."

On Friday the transit system released surveillance video of the theft that took place at the busy Walker's Point intersection about 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10, at the height of rush hour.

The video shows the man peeling down the four 24- by 54-inch panels that make up the the image of a Mexican Serape emblazoned with an Aztec calendar in the shelter at the northwest corner of the intersection.

It then shows the man boarding a westbound Blue Line bus and exiting at Cesar Chavez Drive.

"I didn’t know how to feel. I didn’t know whether to be upset or honored," said artist Gloria Ruiz-Santos, who spent a week creating the dazzling digital artwork that reflects her ethnic heritage and love for the Walker's Point neighborhood on Milwaukee's south side.

She had to relearn Photoshop and take other digital tutorials to create the work, which was formally unveiled July 30.

The petty pilferer could have purchased a reprint of the image at this weekend’s Walker's Point 5th Street Fest, the proceeds of which will help beautify other bus shelters throughout the county through the Bus Shelter Art Project.

And if he loved it that much Ruiz-Santos would have gladly provided him with a copy of the image, she said.

"I'm really hoping the guy that stole it stole it for the love of it," she said.

"It looks so plain here now without it."

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has made a personal donation of $10,000 to reinstall the work and place more art across Milwaukee County bus shelters, Conway said.

"It is not necessarily the crime of the century," Conway said.

"But I think it's important that people understand that this is a public space, this is public art, this is paid for through donations and the artist put a lot of work into it."