The recent disappearance of Saint Mary's most beloved duck duo has watchers fearing the worst, and disturbed students have begun to investigate the mystery.
The popular duck pair goes by the names of Bonnie and Clyde or LaFawnduh and Kip, depending on whom you ask. Despite disagreement over what the famous duck pair should be called, everyone who saw them agreed that the two were inseparable.
"They were together all of the time every day, walking side by side, and it was really cute," said Saint Mary's junior Andrea Moon.
The faculty also took notice of the duo. Janet Flahaven, the assistant director of marketing at Saint Mary's, was one of its regular watchers.
"They were very social," she said. "They would waddle on up to people and look for food. They were part of the campus."
However, early on a Sunday afternoon in September, the female duck went missing. The sight of the male duck swimming all alone concerned many students and faculty alike.
"I saw the little brown and white one wandering aimlessly and quacking," said Moon, who began an online forum to investigate the disappearance. "I think he was trying to call out for the black duck. He did it all day. He just seemed lost."
The forum received numerous responses from people wanting to know what had happened to the female duck and expressing their regret at the pair's separation.
"As much as I like seeing them together, it is even more heartbreaking to see him all alone," Moon said. "I would rather them both be taken."
"We all just want them to be reunited," Flahaven said.
Students have many theories on what happened to the missing mallard. Some believe she died or simply flew away. Saint Mary's freshman Carly O'Connor has another idea.
"Last Friday I was sitting by the lake and noticed there was a new duck in town ... I think he kicked her out and replaced her with the mallard, because I saw them swimming together," she said.
Soon after the female went, the male duck also disappeared. The most popular explanation is that someone from Security or Building Services caught the duck to take care of it over the winter.
"Someone with a red truck came in mid-afternoon one Sunday and had the black duck caged in the back," said Angie Yates, assistant administrator in Marketing at Saint Mary's. "We assumed it was Building Services or Security. However, we called and both stated they had no involvement."
A post in the Saint Mary's forum indicated that Officer Derrick Chambliss with the Security Department had taken the ducks to his farm. However, Chambliss denies any involvement.
"I do not even own a farm," he said.
No satisfactory explanation for the missing ducks has yet surfaced. Wherever they have gone to, students and faculty are most concerned that they remain together.
"I hated to see them separated," Yates said. "I called them the dynamic duo."
