VANCOUVER —
A massive jade boulder that was stolen from outside a B.C. gift shop earlier this month has been recovered.

The owner of Cariboo Jade and Gifts in Cache Creek confirmed the rock was recently spotted by a Good Samaritan, who reported the location to the RCMP.

“We are so happy to have it back in one piece, although with a few scars from its adventure,” Heidi Roy said in an email to CTV News. “A happy ending in a year full of bad news!”

It’s unclear whether the RCMP has identified a suspect in the theft. The gift shop said police are expected to release a statement on Tuesday.

The boulder, which has sat outside Cariboo Jade & Gifts for decades, is estimated to be worth as much as $50,000, according to the RCMP.

Roy said she received many messages of sympathy and encouragement after the theft, and that it’s “clear that this stone meant a lot to many more people than we realized.”

It was stolen on the night of Dec. 19, when someone pulled a truck and trailer in front of the store and used an excavator to snatch the nearly 3,000-pound rock.

The truck and trailer were found abandoned in separate locations in Chase and Kamloops days later, but there was no sign of the boulder.