County's plan to retrieve Jason Voorhees statue from Lake Pleasant sparks petition (2025)

County's plan to retrieve Jason Voorhees statue from Lake Pleasant sparks petition (1)

Horror villainJason Voorhees remainsat the bottom of an Arizona lake— for now.

A realisticstatue of him, that is.

Members of anArizona scuba community and horror film fans have rallied to keep thereplica of the hockey-masked "Friday the 13th" antagonistsubmerged in Lake Pleasantafter county officials said they planned to remove it.

In just two weeks, aChange.org petitiontitled"#SaveJason" garneredmore than1,700 signaturesto keep the statue firmly planted in the murky waters near Vista Point. The goalis 2,500.

This comes afterThe Arizona Republic reported that the statuehad been placed there alongside a slew of items — the list ranges fromfake skeletons toa poker table— by members of alocal scuba diving community.

The story put the statueon the radar of Maricopa County parks officials, who said placing the odd items in the lake violates park rules and could be a safety hazard.

Lake Pleasant Regional Park Supervisor David Jordan told The Republic in September thatdivers would be sent to retrieve theitems, which parks officials deemed litter.

Violation ofMaricopa County's parklittering rule—which includes"depositing or abandoning garbage, sewage, refuse, trash, waste, or other obnoxious material"— is grounds fora class 2 misdemeanor or evictionfrom the park, according to the Countywebsite.

Maricopa County Parks and Recreation spokesperson Dawna Taylor said they have not yet found the infamous statue, but declined to comment furtheron efforts to "save" it.

"There's always a little bit of humor behind it but at the same time, we're very much concerned about … trying to maintain clean facilities for people to enjoy," Jordan told The Republic in September.

MORE:Officials: 'Friday the 13th' statue, skeletons under Lake Pleasant have to go

But some members of the Arizona Scuba Divers Facebook group— includingthe statue'screator —claimtheir actions are justified, in partbecause they help keep the local waters clean.

"Our area of the lake is cleaner than any other place in the lakeguaranteed and I agree almost every shop does a clean up of the lake and pull more trash out than anyone," Zachary Nagy, the statue'screator, wrote in the Facebook group.

Jason still lives, reportedly

Nagy, whotold The Republiche made the statue and placed it underwater, has declined further requests for comment. He instead took tohorror filmpodcastSlasher Radio to discuss the tumult that had unraveled since The Republic'sinitial story.

Slasher Radio hosts launched the #SaveJason Change.org petition shortly after invitingNagy onto the show, where they discussed everything from the logistics of making the statue to his thoughtson thenewfound conflict with the County.

The podcast aired after the county's cleanup of the lake, and Nagy said hisstatue remains submerged, contradicting the New YorkPost's report that itwas removed.

Taylor, spokeswomanof the County Parks and Recreation department, said in an email that 150 volunteers scoured the lake for the statue in a five-hour cleanup on Sept. 22. They got ridof 200 large bags of litter, but Voorhees' haunting figure remains.

Taylor said the lake's murky waters had made it difficult for divers to search for the statue.

County's plan to retrieve Jason Voorhees statue from Lake Pleasant sparks petition (2)

Why peoplewantthings to stay

Mike, a host of Slasher Radio, said after his interview with Nagy he believes the statue is a harmless piece of nostalgia. He requested his last name be anonymous because ofsafety concerns from previous experiences.

"I grew up on this stuff," he said. "It's nice to have that nostalgia and I think it also kind of brings it to life in a weird kind of way where … it's not a real Jason, but you can go see that."

Beyond the petition, Mike said there are plans to reach out to the county to see if a compromise could be reached that would allow the statue to stay. He believes itattracts scuba divers to the lake who keep it clean and bring revenue to the park.

"That's why we wanted to get as many voices behind us as we could," he said.

Plans for a diving park

Brian Deatherage, a local scuba diver, shared the same sentiment. He draftedan 18-pageproposalto replicate a "wreck dive"environment — usually made of sunken ships andplanes — tooffer challenging, enjoyable experiences for scuba divers. It's not unheard of, and it's done throughout the country, he said.

Deatheragesaid he understands the county's perspective on keeping the lake litter free. He personally hates when park guests leave trash in the lake, and he wants the diving park to go in the right way— with approval.

His prepared the proposalfor the Pleasant Harbor Marina, the Department of Land Use Planning and Zoning and the Gila River Indian Community. He wants to section off a portion of Vista Point's bay for"diver-associated amenities," including morebenches for gear, stairs into the water and a sunken airplane for training.

"Having those markers there when you're doing your dive and you know where you are, it really helps to just keep everybody calm and everything safe,"he said.

"We have the finance, we have the engineering, we have the plan, all we need is approval now."

A more diplomatic solution

Any item placed underwater, regardless of intention, is bound to become waste at some point,longtime diver Chris Adams wrote in the Arizona Scuba Divers Facebook group.

"Water is relentless," he wrote."It degrades things into garbage, trash, litter, rust, or whatever one wants to call it, even if it was originally intended to be otherwise. This is ultimately Jason's fate as well."

Adams also wrotethat it would behoovethe community to be more aware of what's in the lakeand to pick up anything thatdoesn't belong — even the "cool items" purposely placed there.

"It will take someone championing that in a diplomatic way, as we depend on the lake, the lake doesn't depend on us, so we are at a great disadvantage," he wrote."We are guests of the facility (Maricopa Water District)."

He warned scuba divers could see their privileges taken awayif they don't handle the situation properly.

He warned that if scuba divers don't follow the rules, "they will likely consider actions that will make diving Lake Pleasant difficult, or not allowed at all."

"Maybe it is time we stop ignoring the cool looking 'added items'at the lake and pick them up, just as we do for cans, bottles, and flip-flops," he said.

Reach reporter Angel Mendoza at amendoza@gannett.com, or follow him on Twitter @angelmendozaAZC or on Facebook.

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County's plan to retrieve Jason Voorhees statue from Lake Pleasant sparks petition (2025)

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