Where’s Ferdinand? El Matador restaurant offers $250 reward for return of bull mascot

A Mexican restaurant in Costa Mesa wants its bull back.

Owners of El Matador are seeking the public’s help in finding the missing mascot and are offering a $250 reward for its safe return.

Two weeks ago, someone entered the restaurant at 1768 Newport Blvd. and stole the Ferdinand the Bull statue from a room in the back, said co-owner Jana McConaughy.

“We were thinking it was just a prank,” she said. “We thought someone was messing with us a little bit, but it hasn’t come back.”

McConaughy said the furry, 4-foot-tall, 40-pound creature was given to the restaurant by a customer in 2007. She believes it was taken about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 5 while the restaurant was open. No one reported seeing anybody take the statue, but a manager told her he saw “suspicious-looking people” in the restaurant that night, McConaughy said.

She said the back of the restaurant doesn’t have cameras facing Ferdinand.

She said the incident has not been reported to police.

This isn’t the first time Ferdinand has gone missing.

The Daily Pilot reported in 2008 that the statue was stolen from a bar stool during operating hours and returned about six months later by people who saw it on a front porch in Costa Mesa.

McConaughy said the bull, which she dresses up for holidays, is popular among children, who frequently pose for pictures with it.

“It’s very important to us,” she said. “I don’t see why anyone else would want it. We’re going to be celebrating our 50th anniversary this St. Patrick’s Day, and it’s going to be really sad if he’s not there.”

Anyone with information about Ferdinand’s whereabouts is asked to call the restaurant at (949) 645-0324.