Corydon's Christmas mystery: Can social media help find Santa's chair before Light Up event?

CORYDON, Ind. (WDRB) -- It's not all merry and bright in Corydon, after someone stole Santa's chair.

The trees are decorated and the wreaths are hung up, but one crucial element is missing before Santa comes to town during Light Up Corydon.

"I bet I got stopped ten times with people asking 'did you find the chair yet?'" Eva Bates-North said.

The Corydon resident said she was getting the town into the Christmas spirit, when she noticed Santa's chair was missing.

LIGHT UP CORYDON - 2022 (1).jpg — Santa's Chair was taken from outside of the Corydon, Indiana Town Garage on Monday. (Image courtesy Eva Bates-North) Nov. 22, 2023

For the past six years, the town has used the red velvet chair for Santa to arrive at the annual Light Up Corydon. The parade is this weekend, but the chair has been missing since at least Monday. It was last seen sitting outside of the Corydon Town Garage waiting to be added to a sleigh for the parade.

"We've loved it," Janelle Amy, Main Street Corydon's Executive Director, said. "It's had a lot of fond memories of it."

Bates-North is on a mission to find it. "It really stinks that it's gone," she said. So she has taken to social media to spread the word, and the community's support is making her spirit bright.

"It reminds me of Whoville, this little community," Bates-North said. "I've never seen one item bring the community together so much."

Amy is keeping track of how far their message is going.

"We had 300 shares on Facebook of trying to find this chair," she said. "People communicating back and fourth about where they saw it last and where it's going."

Corydon is also coming together to uncover who took Santa's chair -- even considering The Grinch. Returning that chair could determine whether the thief is on the naughty or nice list this year.