State police searched for the fiberglass ape on Sunday after Shirley Lou Clifford reported it had been stolen from her yard.
Hours later, four teenagers drove up to the Clifford home with the ape strapped on a truck.
Gene Clifford, Shirley Lou's husband, says they told him they found the gorilla in a field about two miles from their Westmoreland County home.
The primate has been reigning over the Cliffords swimming pool for 26 years, when Shirley Lou picked it up from a closed miniature golf course.
Police say they still don't know who stole the creature.
