Always on his mind: Willie Nelson’s armadillo kidnapped

A stuffed armadillo that serves as an on-stage mascot for country music legend Willie Nelson has been returned after being kidnapped from a Las Vegas-area show.

Officials at the Westin Lake Las Vegas resort in Henderson say the creature, named Ol’ Dillo, vanished while audience members were greeting Nelson after a concert on Monday night.

Westin marketing director Matt Boland says Nelson’s crew called in the middle of the night from the road, asking the resort to scour surveillance footage after the mascot went missing.

Mr Boland says he was outside the hotel on Tuesday morning when an apologetic man drove up and handed him a shoebox and instructions to return it to Nelson.

Mr Boland says the armadillo was inside and was sent to the singer in California.

In a message on Facebook, Nelson said: “Ol’ Dillo is on his way home! Thank you to all of our friends and family for helping track him down. Thank you Capital Theater for having an amazing staff and hunting down clues.

“Lesson of the week: Only cowards steal from another person, don’t be a coward!”