I knew of a nome who traveled Europe and later was seen in India only to return a year later to the yard it was taken from. For their temporary loss, the rightful owners were sent monthly pictures of the thing in front of famous landmarks. The story, with pictures made the paper.
:)
My sister did this to a coffee shop mascot. Soon, everyone was kidnapping it and sending pictures from their travels. She admitted to being the original culprit and now she gets a free cup of coffee every time she goes there.
My family has been doing this since 1979. We call it “Taking a Hostage”.