Ljubljana, 16 May

Police in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of US first lady Melania Trump that was sawed off and carried away from her hometown.

The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during President Donald Trump's first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970.

It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

Police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik Rangus said Friday that the police were informed about the theft of the statue on Tuesday. She said police were working to track down those responsible.

According to Slovenian media reports, the bronze replica was sawed off at the ankles and removed.

The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020.

The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Trump's presidential inauguration in 2017.

The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance with the first lady.