Don't worry, everyone: This town finally found its giant rubber ducky

The town of Clinton, New Jersey, had a problem. Its giant, inflatable rubber duck, a crucial part of its annual rubber ducky race, had gone missing.

While one might assume a giant floating duck would be hard to miss, it was gone for nearly a week before it was finally recovered in the trash. Fortunately, all experts point to the rubber duck making a full recovery. But how did this happen?

It all started the morning after the Clinton Sunrise Rotary's Great Rubber Ducky Race. The giant rubber duck had been left tied down on the river, following a great showing at the race, but had disappeared by the next morning.

According to NJ.com, police have been unable to say exactly how the giant rubber duck broke free, but Clinton residents suspect foul play regarding the play-fowl. The president of the Clinton Guild -- a non-profit association for local businesses and merchants -- believes the giant rubber duck was easily accessible enough that some miscreant could snatch it.

A rough week followed that fateful night. The CrimeStoppers of Hunterdon County offered a $250 reward for any info on the whereabouts of the giant rubber duck, and the city's Facebook page posted missing posters, noting that it was 5 feet, 4 inches, in case someone wasn't sure if they'd found it.

But finally, the giant rubber duck is making its journey home. It was recovered by police officers in a park in neighboring Franklin Township, who stated that the poor giant fellow had been found deflated and "stuffed into a large black plastic garbage bag."

For now, the story seems to end here. The giant rubber duck has been returned to Clinton police, and will soon be back with its owners in the Clinton Guild, even if no one knows how it traveled so far.

If only giant rubber ducks could only speak, the stories this one would quack.

[H/T: NY Daily News]