News

Actions

CSU victory bell missing for 100 years mysteriously reappears

Posted at 4:57 PM, Apr 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-20 19:04:07-04

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A 100-year-old mystery seemingly out of an episode of Scooby Doo has been solved, a missing bell from Colorado State University's campus has reappeared. 

The case of the missing bell began back in 1919, when a group of men climbed a tower in a CSU building that burned to the ground in 1970. They stole the bell and hid it in a secret location, according to CSU officials, who blogged about the finding of the bell. 

After those men hauled the bell away, it went into safe keeping by a fraternity, which verbally passed down the story of taking the bell into safe keeping. 

It didn't resurface until 2016, when a lawyer called the Executive Director of the CSU Alumni Association, Kristi Bohlender. 

The lawyer asked cryptic questions about an old bell, asking what she might do with the bell if returned. Not too long after that, a bell showed up in Bohlender's driveway. 

CSU officials eventually learned that the person who brought the bell back thought it was time to bring the bell out of hiding and return it to its rightful home. 

MORE | Learn more about how the bell was stolen. 

After research, Bohlender and the university were able to send it off for restoration, learning it was still in good condition. 

It took a year, but eventually the bell was refurbished and the university formulated a plan for what to do and where it should be placed.

They felt the bell would be perfectly located in a tower in the Iris & Michael Smith Alumni Center. On April 18, the bell was unveiled in a ceremony, and it will again ring over campus. 

Officials say the selection of when it rings will be carefully measured, so as not to disturb residents. 


Enjoy this content? Follow Denver7 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and download the Denver7 app on iOS and Android devices for continual access to breaking news, weather and sports.