By Claire Burnett, The Current Co-Editor-in-Chief
On February 4, the River Hill birthday Hawk went missing from its home at the entrance of the school. Nearly four months later, on the morning of May 22, the school’s beloved Hawk was returned.
Besides bringing joy to the community, the birthday Hawk helps raise money for the River Hill Boosters through signs that can be purchased for students’ birthdays. At the beginning of the school year, River Hill unveiled a new seven-foot wooden birthday Hawk that was painted by two River Hill juniors, Sam Smole and Daniel Murakami. The Hawk is fashioned with an RHHS shirt and a Hawk Time book, representing the school pride of River Hill.
Following a basketball game on the night of February 4, The Hawk was stolen and people immediately began searching for answers. Its disappearance created a buzz around the community, with missing posters spread by the River Hill Boosters Instagram and coverage in the local news. There was a lot of speculation about the culprit, with some believing that it was someone from a rival school such as Glenelg, Altholton, or Reservoir. These schools’ administrations questioned their students who were suspected of taking The Hawk. However, Sam commented, “Unfortunately there are no surveillance cameras that close to the road, so it was unclear who took it, and it was never confirmed.” Sam added, “There was a police report filed along with some news stations that got involved, so there were definitely a lot of people involved trying to get it back.”
Despite the heavy involvement from the school and community, The Hawk’s disappearance remained a mystery for months. Sam described that when The Hawk was stolen, “it was a little sad, but honestly Daniel and I went into it with the mindset that it was probably going to be stolen/vandalized just based off of previous years.” Previously, The Hawk was vandalized with spray paint, which is why a new one was created for this school year.
Daniel had similar feelings, commenting, “On one hand I was a little freaked out at first because I knew the last Hawk was vandalized, but I was hopeful that it would be returned safely.” He continued, adding, “On the other hand, I was flattered that The Hawk was significant enough that another school thought it would be cool to steal it.”
Every day, students could expect to see The Hawk surrounded by yard signs wishing students a happy birthday. After The Hawk was stolen, the birthday signs were still set up on the grass median, but the student community could feel a sense of despair for the missing hawk.
Although its whereabouts were unknown, The Hawk was finally returned to River Hill on May 22. Sam reflected, “I am glad it’s back and unharmed because we were very close to making a new one for next year.” Similarly, Daniel remarked “I couldn’t really believe it at first because I just thought it was gone forever. I’m just really happy that it came back unharmed!” Now, The Hawk can bring back an extra sense of pride and joy in the River Hill community.