Posted on: June 26, 2025 07:00 AM

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Video captures group of alleged swan thieves stealing bird from park in Howard beach

A strange theft captured on film resulted in the detainment of a group of individuals accused of taking a swan from a Queens park and subsequently cramming the creature into a vehicle.

The trending clip displays a young man clutching the swan, dashing away from the inlet at 165th Avenue and 95th Street in Frank Charles Memorial Park in Howard Beach on Saturday evening.

"They came up this pathway here and then sprinted toward the street," stated Stephanie Santiago.

Santiago, an attendance teacher at a local school in Howard Beach, resides in close proximity, and her daughter filmed the mobile video depicting the pilfered swan being stuffed into a car.The educator even caught the four males chuckling as they hurried off.

"I screamed at them. I was furious, but I told them that they would see me again," Santiago mentioned.

Santiago noted that she observes the swans basking in her yard daily, and she believed this particular swan to be a parent to four cygnets.

"These birds need to be safeguarded. They are federally protected species," she asserted.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation states that mute swans are safeguarded under legal provisions - consequently, swans, along with their nests and eggs, cannot be touched or harmed without permission from the DEC.

Santiago reached out to U.S. Parks officials and shared the footage.

Neighbor PJ Marcel noticed Santiago's swan-snatching video and shared it on the local Facebook group, Howard Beach Dads.

"I was beside myself. I was infuriated," Marcel told Eyewitness News.The community echoed these sentiments: the video "garnered nearly 150,000 views and 2000 shares in less than 16 hours."

In less than 24 hours after the clip was uploaded, NYC Parks worker Frank Kelly identified the suspects about two miles away in Forest Park."I couldn't believe it," Kelly remarked.

He sent a photo and video to his wife, who relayed them to Marcel, who then forwarded them to the police.

Three out of the four suspects were captured as a result of community members coming together to safeguard wildlife.Investigators "entered the vehicle in their suits and discovered various swan feathers," Kelly stated.

Notifying authorities about the alleged thieves "felt amazing, I won’t lie to you," Kelly expressed. "It felt rewarding to do good."

One of the detained suspects is a minor and has been released to a guardian, according to the police.

Charges are anticipated.

The fate of the missing waterbird remains unknown.