Latest news with #RydeHotel
CBS News
20 hours ago
- CBS News
Staff at Sacramento-area hotel believe dozens of missing peackocks were stolen
Dozens of peacocks and peahens known for wandering the grounds of a historic Art Deco hotel in the Sacramento Delta are missing, and the hotel staff said this week that they believe the birds were stolen. After a customer at the Ryde Hotel on Sunday mentioned seeing two men grabbing one of the birds and putting it inside a cage on the bed of a pickup truck, the staff did a count and realized only four of their exotic birds remained, David Nielsen, the hotel's general manager, said. "We're not sure why anyone would do anything like this, but the staff is absolutely heartbroken," Nielsen said. Authorities are investigating the case as a property crime. The male birds are valued at $2,000 each and the peahens at $1,000 each, said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesperson at the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. He didn't share any additional information. "The peacocks have been here for about 14 years, and they were brought in by the new owner of the hotel. Nielsen told CBS Sacramento. " And we were very excited to get them. We've had generations of them over the years, and they became part of the family." Peacocks are common in Art Nouveau design. Staff fed them leftovers of filet mignon, prime rib and salmon, and over time, the birds became tamer. They got used to people, and the employees began seeing them as pets, even naming some of them. Rafe Goorwitch, the hotel's catering coordinator, said he fed a group of about 15 peafowls twice every day. He named the biggest one Alibaba, Baba for short, because he would walk through the hotel like he owned the place. "I joked with the owner that we worked for Baba because he would walk through the dinner rooms, the ballrooms and the garden with this attitude that he was the boss," Goorwitch said. Peacocks tend to be aloof, but Baba "became like a dog," he said. Since the news about the missing birds became public, people have been calling the hotel with tips and possible sightings, including reports of neighbors with new peacock pets, Nielsen said. Hotel staff are hoping the birds are found and returned home. For now, the hotel has added better and more surveillance cameras, and there are plans to add more fencing. "They really meant a lot to us," Nielsen said. Walnut Grove is a delta town located in southern Sacramento County, about 28 miles south of the city of Sacramento.
New York Times
2 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Dozens of Peacocks and Peahens Disappear From Remote California Hotel
There were always some guests at the Ryde Hotel just as important as the paying customers: the resident peacocks and peahens. Until, that is, most of them disappeared, quite possibly stolen. There had been roughly 40 peafowl running around the vicinity of the Ryde in Walnut Grove, Calif., a small town in the Sacramento River Delta. A hardcore group that stayed close to the hotel numbered about 15. All but four have disappeared. 'A guest over the weekend said he had seen two guys putting a peacock in a crate and driving away,' said Rafe Goorwitch, an event coordinator and the unofficial peacock wrangler at the hotel. 'That's when we made the discovery we were down so many.' Hotel ownership had brought in a mated pair of Indian blue peafowl 15 years ago. Many generations later, their progeny had the run of the place and became a signature of the hotel. 'The public has embraced them,' Mr. Goorwitch said. 'We hang peacock pictures around the hotel.' Two of the birds were named: the second senior male was Pancho, and 'the senior chief peacock,' as Mr. Goorwitch put it, was Alibaba, called Baba for short. 'He was an atypical peafowl,' Mr. Goorwitch explained. 'Peacocks are known to be aloof; he would come right up to you. He came into the dining room and ballroom, hung out in the rafters. He was not skittish like most peafowl. He just had this attitude. He was just charming.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Famous peacocks and peahens ‘stolen' from historic hotel
Dozens of peacocks and peahens, a beloved presence at a historic Art Deco hotel in Sacramento Delta, have vanished, with staff suspecting the birds were stolen. The alarm was raised after a customer at the Ryde Hotel reported seeing two men on Sunday placing one of the distinctive birds into a cage on the back of a pickup truck. A subsequent count by staff revealed only four of their exotic flock remained. David Nielsen, the hotel's general manager, expressed the profound distress felt by his team. "We're not sure why anyone would do anything like this, but the staff is absolutely heartbroken," he said. Authorities are now investigating the incident as a property crime. Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, confirmed the male birds are valued at $2,000 each and the peahens at $1,000 apiece. The birds had become a signature of the hotel, having reproduced significantly since the owner acquired an initial five 14 years ago to roam the grounds. Staff fed them leftovers of fillet mignon, prime rib and salmon, and over time, the birds became tamer. They got used to people, and the employees began seeing them as pets, even naming some of them. Rafe Goorwitch, the hotel's catering coordinator, said he fed a group of about 15 peafowls twice every day. He named the biggest one Alibaba, Baba for short, because he would walk through the hotel like he owned the place. 'I joked with the owner that we worked for Baba because he would walk through the dinner rooms, the ballrooms and the garden with this attitude that he was the boss,' Goorwitch said. Peacocks tend to be aloof, but Baba "became like a dog,' he said. Since the news about the missing birds became public, people have been calling the hotel with tips and possible sightings, including reports of neighbors with new peacock pets, Nielsen said. Hotel staff are hoping the birds are found and returned home. For now, the hotel has added better and more surveillance cameras, and there are plans to add more fencing. 'They really meant a lot to us,' Nielsen said.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Washington Post
Peacocks roamed a historic hotel. Then they were stolen, management says.
Hotel staff have installed a new security system. Nearby farms and vineyards have offered replacements for the plunder. Law enforcement is searching for the perpetrators. After about three dozen peacocks were reported stolen Sunday from California's Ryde Hotel, employees are 'heartbroken' by the loss, manager David Nielsen said. 'They were really part of the staff in many ways, emotionally,' he said of the jewel-tailed birds.
CNN
2 days ago
- CNN
Dozens of peacocks and peahens believed stolen from Northern California hotel
Dozens of peacocks and peahens known for wandering the grounds of a historic Art Deco hotel in the Sacramento Delta are missing, and the hotel staff said Tuesday they believe the birds were stolen. After a customer at the Ryde Hotel mentioned Sunday seeing two men grabbing one of the birds and putting it inside a cage on the bed of a pickup truck, the staff did a count and realized only four of their exotic birds remained, David Nielsen, the hotel's general manager, said. 'We're not sure why anyone would do anything like this, but the staff is absolutely heartbroken,' Nielsen said. Authorities are investigating the case as a property crime. The male birds are valued at $2,000 each and the peahens at $1,000 each, said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesperson at the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. He didn't share any additional information. The owner purchased five of the birds to wander the grounds 14 years ago. They reproduced 'to the point that they became a signature of the hotel,' Nielsen said. Peacocks are common in Art Nouveau design. Staff fed them leftovers of filet mignon, prime rib and salmon, and over time, the birds became tamer. They got used to people, and the employees began seeing them as pets, even naming some of them. Rafe Goorwitch, the hotel's catering coordinator, said he fed a group of about 15 peafowls twice every day. He named the biggest one Alibaba, Baba for short, because he would walk through the hotel like he owned the place. 'I joked with the owner that we worked for Baba because he would walk through the dinner rooms, the ballrooms and the garden with this attitude that he was the boss,' Goorwitch said. Peacocks tend to be aloof, but Baba 'became like a dog,' he said. Since the news about the missing birds became public, people have been calling the hotel with tips and possible sightings, including reports of neighbors with new peacock pets, Nielsen said. Hotel staff are hoping the birds are found and returned home. For now, the hotel has added better and more surveillance cameras, and there are plans to add more fencing. 'They really meant a lot to us,' Nielsen said.
