Flowers mark the spot where the wooden “Charlie the Tuna” statue stood on the east side of the South Slough Bridge heading into Charleston. There will be a “wake” for the remaining pieces of the once 8-foot-tall carved fish at 2 p.m., Saturday, at the Charleston Visitors Center. -World Photo by Lou Sennick

It was just a prank. There it was — that big, blue fish beaming a silly grin at visitors driving across the bridge into Charleston.

Mark Santos and Marvin Terry Jr. thought they’d just take it — just for a while. They wanted to see whether people noticed the giant Charlie the Tuna was missing. Oh, the fun. They hoisted that big statue in a pickup truck and drove away.

But the joke went wrong, so wrong.

“We had planned to wait a little while and then leave Charlie in a random place in town where he could be returned unharmed,” they said in an apology letter published in today’s World.

But then someone found Charlie. Santos and Terry panicked. They had to move it. They rushed to the hiding place and tried to move it, but the chunk of carved fish wouldn’t fit in the truck.

“We decided to chop him up so we could move him. This was not pre-planned,” they said.

The rest of the story is in a police report. Coos County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested the filleting fiends at the scene. Now Santos and Terry Jr. are apologizing. Santos stopped by Mel Campbell’s house Tuesday. The Charleston Merchants Association member had been lamenting the loss of Charlie. A devastated Santos wanted to express his regret personally.

Campbell’s helping the Charleston community organize a wake for Charlie the Tuna. But she said she was impressed by Santos’ grit in fessing up to his deed.

“Mark seemed like such a good kid. He was so darling I just wanted to cry,” she said. “This was just a terrible, dumb, stupid prank that went absolutely wrong.”

Charlie wasn’t going to last long anyway, due to internal parasites. The case of the missing tuna has brought some publicity to Charleston.

“We’ve had more fun, but I don’t want to do it at the expense of the lives of two kids,” Campbell said.

She said she plans to write a letter to the Coos County district attorney on behalf of the two and seek leniency.

The ceremony will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Charleston Visitor’s Center.

The Charleston Volunteer Fire Department will officiate. The Wild Women of Charleston and the Tuna Guys will offer musical moments. Someone identified as Robert, the filleter, will say a few words.

All are invited to share their favorite stories about Charlie and bring tuna recipes.

Those who wish to picnic can bring a lunch.

The center is located at the intersection of Boat Basin Drive and the Cape Arago Highway, just across the South Slough Bridge.