Mysterious giant Lego man washes ashore bearing cryptic message - 2007: Netherlands; 2008: England; 2011: US (Florida)

Dutch Lego man, 2007: stood in front of the drinks stall for kids to play with; UK Lego man, 2008: stayed on Brighton Beach for beach-goers to enjoy; US Lego man, 2011: taken into police custody, to stay in jail for 90 days.

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Lifesize Lego Man washes up on Florida beach, taken into police custody
[Oct 27 2011] - Police in southern Florida are scratching their heads over a life-sized Lego man bearing a cryptic slogan that washed up on the beach.

The 8-foot-tall red, yellow and green Lego man was discovered Tuesday on Sarasota's Siesta Key Beach. "It doesn't make sense," said Jeff Hindman, who found the eight-foot-tall, 100-pound fiberglass figure during his morning walk, according to the Herald Tribune.

Hindman said he initially thought the Lego man was beached marine life, but when he dragged the statue out of the water and stood him up, Hindman discovered the ominous message "NO REAL THAN YOU ARE" across the front of the Lego shirt. The figure's back reads "EGO LEONARD" and has the number eight.

Ego Leonard is a Dutch artist whose website reads "No real than you are" and features a photo of a Lego man on the homepage. He sent the Herald Tribune the following message: "I am glad I crossed over. Although it was a hell of a swim. Nice weather here and friendly people. I think I am gonna stay here for a while. A local sheriff escorted me to my new home."

Similar Lego men with the same grammatical mangling were found on beaches in Holland in 2007 and England in 2008.

The rightful owner of the Florida Lego man has 90 days to claim him from Sarasota police.

Lego Man, looking for adventure, winds up in Florida jail
The arrival of the "Lego Man" in the United States was like something out of a 3-year-old's dream. The 8-foot-tall, 100-pound fiberglass statue that resembles the little plastic guys that come in a Lego set was discovered bobbing gently in ankle-deep surf at Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, Fla.

the Lego Man's journey has landed him in the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, where he will stay locked away and inaccessible to the public for the next three months unless his owner comes forward. A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, Sarah Kenniff, said the Lego Man is not able to see visitors.

If nobody comes to claim him after the 90-day waiting period, he will most likely be given to Jeff Hindman, the man who originally spotted Ego Leonard riding the waves. Hindman told reporters that if he does get custody, he'll probably sell the Lego Man on eBay.

Giant Lego man found in Dutch sea
[Oct 30, 2008] - It is thought to have washed up on the beach, and was spotted by children playing there. The Lego man is 6ft tall in red, yellow and green. It is presumed to have washed up on the beach, but whether it has come from a cargo ship or from across the Channel is not clear.

Brighton resident Gerry Turner, 34, said: "It's very odd. God knows how it got here but people are saying it's from Holland because it's got some Dutch writing on it. It must have fallen off a boat of something. The kids love it." Children helped stand the Lego man up on the beach, but are still mystified as to where it came from. One said: "It's great, but we don't know why it's here."

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said it didn't know the origin of the Lego man, but said it was fine for it to remain on the beach. He said: "There's no problem at all. It will be interesting to see how long the Lego man stays there for. We'll keep an eye on it."

A different giant Lego man was fished out of the sea in the Dutch resort of Zandvoort in August. That model was yellow and blue, and had the words "No real than you are" in English across its torso. That toy was said to come from England, so perhaps the Dutch decided to return the favour.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Lego man, who was created as a policeman in August 1978. Since then he has been recreated as an astronaut, cowboy, pirate and diver, as well as a number of film roles from Star Wars to Harry Potter.

Giant Lego man found in Dutch sea
[Aug 7, 2007] - A giant, smiling Lego man was fished out of the sea in the Dutch resort of Zandvoort on Tuesday.

Workers at a drinks stall rescued the 2.5-metre (8-foot) tall model with a yellow head and blue torso. "We saw something bobbing about in the sea and we decided to take it out of the water," said a stall worker. "It was a life-sized Lego toy."

A woman nearby added: "I saw the Lego toy floating towards the beach from the direction of England."

The toy was later placed in front of the drinks stall.

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Photos courtesy Paul Vreeker / Reuters, Kent News & Picture, and Jeff Hindman / Herald Tribune