As people around the world continue to speculate about the jewelry heist at The Louvre, information about another recent record-breaking burglary is coming to light. An offsite storage facility belonging to the Oakland Museum of California was robbed in the early morning hours of October 15 — just days before headline-making, chainsaw-wielding thieves hit Paris.
The Oakland Police Department and the FBI are investigating as thieves allegedly took off with over a thousand artifacts that were being kept in the Oakland Museum’s storage facility. The estimated value of the stolen items is still unknown, as are the methods of how thieves managed to pull off this massive crime.
It’s One of California’s Biggest Art Heists Ever
In the early morning hours of October 15, around 3:30 a.m., thieves conducted one of the biggest art heists in California’s history. In an online statement, the Oakland Police Department claimed that over 1,000 items were taken, including Native American baskets, jewelry, laptops, and other priceless 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 Lori Fogarty said in the police department’s statement. “Most of these objects have been given to the Museum by generous donors.”
Along with the statement, the Oakland Police Department also released several photos of some of the artifacts that are now missing. These include three necklaces and a portrait photograph of Lucy Dodge Johnson, a woman sitting for an early daguerreotype in 1854. No arrests have yet been made, and the Oakland Police Department is urging anybody with pertinent information to contact them or the FBI Art Crime Team.
