RACINE - Racine police have recovered most of the flags stolen from a Racine neighborhood last week. However, they still don't know who is responsible, or why the flags were stolen. The flag of one mother who lost her son in Iraq is still missing.

It started with three American flags stolen from the front lawns of three military families who live on the 3300 block of Wright Street in Racine. Lisa Bixler's flag had a special significance. It was a way to remember her son Evan, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.
 
"I think everybody that's patriotic knows what it represents. It represents bloodshed for freedom," Bixler said.
 
On Tuesday night, a man called police, saying he found more than a dozen stolen flags in the back of his pickup truck. It wasn't just the missing U.S. flags. There were Packer flags and Harley-Davidson flags found as well. Many of the flags have already been returned to their owners. Unfortunately, none of the flags found are Lisa Bixler's.
 
"It was a prank. They thought it was funny, I guess. Hopefully, it was youth and ignorance," Bixler said.
 
On Wednesday, Racine police said they had just begun their investigation into the stolen flags. They are trying to determine who stole the flags, why, and where Lisa Bixler's flag is. They say they are looking at all possibilities, but the man who reported finding the flags in his truck is not believed to be involved.
 
Lisa Bixler hopes whoever was behind the prank, they learn a lesson.
 
"I'd like to have them maybe do their community service out at the cemetery where my son was laid to rest, whether it's putting wreaths out for Christmas or flags for Memorial Day," Bixler said.
 
A police spokesman says the culprits could be charged with theft, if they intended to keep the flags. Otherwise, they may face a lesser charge or no charge at all.