The village of Saranac Lake's welcome sign on state Route 3 coming into town from Bloomingdale has been replaced after it was likely stolen in September. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

SARANAC LAKE — Christmas has come early for motorists driving into Saranac Lake from Bloomingdale on state Route 3. The colorful new “Saranac Lake” sign that went missing mysteriously in early September has been replaced by the village.

“Welcome back to Saranac Lake,” Village Manager Bachana Tsiklauri wrote in a text with a photo of the new sign on Thursday.

The sign was there only one month when it went missing, and it was likely stolen.

In August, the village erected four circular signs with mosaic borders and fancy lettering on the four entrances to Saranac Lake, each valued at $1,500.

“The PD tried everything they could to get the sign back,” Tsiklauri said. “They put up notices, they did an investigation. Pretty much everything they could do was done. And there’s no sign of the missing sign.”

Eventually, the village decided enough time had gone by and they didn’t want the signpost sitting empty any longer.

“It would be kind of inappropriate to leave only one corner of the village without the entry sign,” Tsiklauri said.

Another sign stands on the western edge of state Route 3, on the way from Tupper Lake. Two signs on state Route 86 greet motorists coming from Paul Smiths, near Adirondack Medical Center, and Ray Brook or Lake Placid, near Turtle Pond.

The village commissioned a replacement sign from Laura Walker, owner and operator of Laura’s Custom Artwork in Lake Placid.

The new sign was picked up on noon on Thursday and installed within the afternoon.

Tsiklauri hasn’t received the bill yet but said this sign was cheaper than the initial ones, since Walker already had the designs and just needed new material.

However, the brackets to mount the sign accidentally got shipped to Ohio, which delayed installation for three weeks.

“It’s back at great timing, I think, with Christmas,” Tsiklauri said.

Tsiklauri said the village employees who installed the sign used new bolts that are harder to unscrew. He’s hoping people respect the village, its art and the beauty the sign brings to the Saranac Lake entrance and leave it where it is. It’s an “honor system” that keeps the village looking nice, he said.

The Saranac Lake Police Department is still asking that anyone with information about the sign’s whereabouts call the department at 518-891-4422 or submit an anonymous tip online at www.saranaclakepolice.org.