Woolma the sheep is a statue that has taken pride of place in front of The Merino Store for the past eight years, to the delight of tourists and locals alike.
But on Tuesday afternoon, everything changed.
Retail assistant Kendra McMath said she noticed something was amiss about 2pm.
Ms McMath said she reached out over social media to see if anyone knew where Woolma was, and was reminded of how important she was to the town.
"People know the sheep. I put it on Facebook without a photo, just the area, and people knew exactly what it was."
Ms McMath said Woolma was irreplaceable and called for the rustlers to do the right thing and bring her home.
Police said they were aware of the theft and were investigating, but could not provide any more details.
