Showalter fish returned

A Showalter fish is on its way back home.

The University has recovered one of the pieces stolen from the Showalter Fountain and closely tied with IU basketball myths and legends.

Most likely, the returned fish was stolen in 2010, Campus Art Curator Sherry Rouse said. However, she said she hasn’t examined it yet, and it could be an original fish, which was stolen in the excitement of the 1987 men’s basketball national championship.

Rouse was approached by someone in  Bloomington, who told her about the whereabouts of the fish. Then, a delivery was arranged, and the University agreed not to press charges for theft in an effort to expedite the process and because there is no indication whether the person who returned the fish was the same person who stole it.

“I said, ‘I’m not going to prosecute you,’” Rouse said. “I just want my fish back.”

Because of the restoration process, the recovered fish won’t take its place in the fountain for as long as a year, Rouse said.

“This is going to take a while to restore,” she said. It’s pretty wrecked.”

Although Rouse did not have any contact with the person who returned the fish to IU, she said she’s happy to have it back on campus.

“I think everybody just wants good news,” she said.

— Michael Auslen