Garden Gnome Goes WildApril 12, 2005
By Molly Shen
REDMOND - It was a Spring Break to remember.
From Las Vegas, to San Francisco, to Hollywood and into the arms of a famous starlet.
A Redmond resident just made the trip.
But his owners never knew he was gone.
The journey started in Marianne Severson's front yard.
"I wanted some things in the flower beds, so I got 'em," she says, gesturing towards a cluster of garden gnomes.
"They're really ticked," she says with a shake of her head.
You see, one of the garden gnomes just got home from that trip -- without Marianne's permission.
"Oh yeah, he's grounded," she says as she walks us inside to introduce us.
The solid concrete gnome went on spring break with some local college students.
This has become a popular prank.
The boys swiped Marianne's gnome, documented their trip, then returned the gnome with the pictures.
She flips through a binder showing her gnome in the arms of a San Francisco street performer.
Next, he was nestled between a Las Vegas Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.
"There he is on Bing Crosby's star in Hollywood," she shows us.
The binder also included a copy of a People magazine.
"That to me is the coup de grace," Marianne says.
She flips it open and shows us that her gnome made it into the pages of the star-tracking mag.
Marianne reads us the caption.
" 'Simple Life' star Paris Hilton shows off two new friends. A palm sized pup and a very sleepy gnome."
His abductors ran into Paris at a Hollywood gas station.
They took pictures with her and so did paparazzi, who sold the picture to People.
We had another surprise for Marianne.
Someone in the KOMO 4 Newsroom knows someone who knows someone - who knows that gnome napper.
We got him on the phone.
She was delighted to talk to him.
"That was so slick, I have to hand it to you," she told him. "What a stunt. You pulled it off beautifully!"
She just has one request.
"Next time you go on Spring Break, would you take my husband and I instead of our gnome?"
The Seversons are Evangelical Christians and didn't approve of all of the gnome's stops.
In particular, Marianne points out the shot of him cozying up to four Hooters girls.
Nonetheless, Marianne says, "He's welcome home with open arms and he has repented for going places where he shouldn't have gone."
He's also promised not to leave again.
At least, not until the stars of Hollywood lure him back.
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