Rodin statue finder 'was thief'

The statue was part of an exhibition from Paris' Rodin Museum

A Chilean student who found a missing Auguste Rodin statue in a park has confessed he was the person who stole it in the first place, police say.

Luis Onfray, 20, said he took the Torso of Adele statue to show how vulnerable the museum's security system was.

The statue was on display at Santiago's Fine Arts Museum when it went missing on Thursday.

The 20-kg (44 pound) statue by French sculptor Rodin is said to have a value of at least 400,000 euros (£268,000).

Mr Onfray, a student at the Art and Social Sciences University, said he stole the statue as part of an "investigation project".

He had earlier returned the statue to the museum, saying he had found it in a nearby park.

He was questioned by police and given a conditional release on Saturday without being officially charged.

Earlier reports had said the statue was returned to the museum by a young boy.

Popular exhibition

The statue formed part of an exhibition of works from the Rodin Museum in Paris.

Local police chief Miguel Valdivia had said "there was no forced entrance to the museum or other violence".

"It's a little piece, so whoever took [it] may have hidden it in a bag or among the clothes," he said.

The exhibition attracted more than 100,000 visitors during the first month.

Rodin, a French sculptor who died in 1917, is best known for his works The Kiss and The Thinker.