The famous ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz have been found. The slippers were stolen 13 years ago from a museum in Grand Rapids in what can only be described as a well-planned robbery.
At the time, police were left with nothing but a museum denying an inside job and a pair of very valuable red shoes missing.
The shoes were estimated to be around $2-3 million in value, if not more. Needless to say, the museum really wanted the shoes back.
According to CNN, the ruby slippers have been recovered after 13 years. The police have revealed that they knew from the beginning that this would be a long-lasting case, where patience and dedication would be at the forefront.
The shoes, worn by Judy Garland, were located in the United States with the help of the FBI. This afternoon, authorities will discuss what led to them finding the shoes.
CNN reports that it was a 2017 tip to Detective Brian Mattson that resulted in the FBI getting involved. Apparently, there were connections outside of Minnesota that could be involved with the theft of the shoes. The Grand Rapids Police Department issued a statement about the case, but have been rather silent about potential suspects.
“Sometime between 5:45 PM on August 27th and 9:45 Am on August 28th, a burglar broke a window in the museum’s back door and entered. The thief smashed a Plexiglas case resting on a wooden podium in the museum’s gallery and made off with the slippers that were insured for 1 million dollars. The alarm did not sound to a central dispatch station. No fingerprints were left behind.”
One can imagine they know exactly who is responsible and what they will be charged with. However, at present time, the police is choosing to keep those details private.
As for the shoes, they could be headed back to the museum, proving there’s no place like home.
This had to be an inside job and I find it very difficult to understand why it has taken the police and FBI so long to find these shoes and put the thief in jail. Even if the time has passed for punishment, we at least should find out the name of the person who stole them and where he hid them for the past years.