That's one resilient sponge.
SpongeBob SquarePants, missing from a Beaver County Burger King since Thanksgiving, was found lying on the side of a Beaver County road earlier this month.
He had been stabbed twice and was covered with dirt and mud, said Frank Bell, vice president of programming for Froggy radio stations in Pittsburgh.
A couple found the deflated 50-pound inflatable and brought him in to the Froggy radio stations, which had been offering a $1,000 reward for the return of the sponge.
"When it arrived, it had been stabbed several times and it was filthy," Bell said. "We've been working for several days trying to get him patched up."
They succeeded and at 10:30 this morning, SpongeBob -- in all his yellow glory -- was slated to be returned to the Chippewa Burger King and reinflated to his full nine-foot size.
No one knows who took SpongeBob or why.
Several other SpongeBobs had gone missing across the country since the promotion began in November.
The couple, who Bell said would be identified at the news conference, also were scheduled to get their $1,000 reward.
"It's a great thing," Bell said. "We're just real happy to find SpongeBob."
The folks at Burger King will give out 1,000 coupons good for free Whoppers at the Chippewa location tomorrow beginning at 10:30 a.m.
"That's kind of our way of giving back to the community," said Jerry Jenkins, a district manager for Burger King.
Jenkins said SpongeBob still has a job with the Burger King, but he'll no longer be stationed on the roof.
"We might just end up keeping him in the dining area," he said. "It's a little warmer."
Burger King's SpongeBob SquarePants promotion, which gave 4,700 of the inflatable sponges a job, ends Sunday, so Jenkins said he wasn't sure how much longer the inflatable would actually stay at the restaurant.
"It really depends on if he stays inflated," he said.
