Mannequin thief outruns rangers

Miss Dixie was ditched, and her abductor is wanted by rangers.

Saturday afternoon, South Carolina authorities were called to the Savannah River when Miss Dixie, a Confederate swimsuit clad mannequin, went missing from her haunt just upriver from Plant Vogtle.

The lifelike dummy had been bolted to a floating dock all boating season and was known for soliciting waves from those who mistook her for a sunbather and photos from those who knew better.

Just after she disappeared, witnesses began reporting that a well-tanned boater with a fluorescent cast on his arm was wearing Miss Dixie's flowing blonde wig. His two passengers, they said, were holding up the bald mannequin and manipulating her arms so that she waved to passers-by.

Georgia DNR rangers identified the boater as Anthony Allan Owen, 30, a Barnwell, SC, resident who was arrested in Burke County in May for boating under the influence (BUI) of alcohol.

South Carolina rangers found Owen's truck at Little Hell boat ramp and waited for him to return to land. But Owen ignored their orders to bring in his boat and, instead, hightailed it upriver.

After a brief river chase, Owen grounded his boat, threw Miss Dixie onto the bank and fled into the woods. His passengers were detained for questioning and later released, and Miss Dixie was taken as state evidence. She will soon be returned to her owner.

Owen, who is scheduled to appear in state court today (Wednesday) for the BUI charge, is wanted for theft by taking.