Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Drivers along I-96 near the Milford Road exit may have noticed something missing Tuesday. The 15-foot, 2,000 pound sculpture known as the "Orange Man on the Hill" appears to have been cut down and left lying in the weeds, much to the disappointment of artist John Sauve.

"I spent 10 years coming up with all the different details to make sure he was ready, where it would go and everything else. The idea was let's bring public art to Lyon Township and then expand it from there," Sauve told WDIV.

"This is the hazard of public art. You can't be policing it 24/7."

The sculpture is part of Sauve's "Man In the City-Detroit" theme, with 100 small cutouts of the silhouette featured on rooftops.

Sauve says the vandalism has inspired him to replace the Orange Man with something new.