From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Nov. 28, 1971:

Was there a gang of tree-thieves afoot in Lawrence? George Owen of Belle Haven Dr. had awakened on a recent morning to find that the 7-foot flowering crab tree which he had planted earlier in the fall was missing, and, in his words, “only the hole remained.” He had called the police, who had been able to follow a trail of dirt to the tree, about one and one-half blocks away. Owen replanted the tree and expressed hope that it would survive the experience. There were no suspects in the incident.