More than 1,000 items were stolen from the Oakland Museum of California’s collection during a burglary at the museum’s off-site storage facility earlier this month, police said Wednesday.
The burglary happened just before 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, according to police. The suspect(s) broke into the storage facility and got away with various pieces, including Native American baskets, jewelry, laptops and other historic artifacts.
“The theft that occurred represents a brazen act that robs the public of our state’s cultural heritage,” Oakland Museum of California Executive Director and CEO Lori Fogarty said in a statement. “Most of these objects have been given to the Museum by generous donors. We are working in close partnership with the City of Oakland, the Oakland Police Department, and the FBI to see that these objects are returned.”
Fogarty said this break-in does not appear to have the hallmarks of what she describes as a “strategic heist,” meaning that the suspects may be trying to pass items off without being fully aware of their value.
That’s also one of the reasons why the museum is now trying to get the word out about this burglary.
“I think if people are at swap meets, or they’re at auctions or they’re in a pawn shop, or antique store, and something looks like, hmmm, this wasn’t here before or this is really unusual,” Fogarty said.
Anyone with information about the burglary is encouraged to contact the Oakland Police Department’s Burglary Section at 510-238-3951. The public can also contact the FBI Art Crime Team at tips.fbi.gov or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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