A pair of ruby slippers used in 'The Wizard of Oz' and later stolen from a Minnesota museum were recovered in a sting operation after a man approached the shoes' insurer and said he could help get them back, the FBI said Tuesday.
The slippers were on loan to the Judy Garland Museum in the late actress' hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, when they were taken in 2005 by someone who climbed through a window and broke into a small display case. The shoes were insured for $1 million.
The FBI said a man approached the insurer in summer 2017 and said he could help get them back.
Grand Rapids police asked for the FBI's help and after a nearly year-long investigation, the slippers were recovered in July during a sting operation in Minneapolis.
This handout photograph obtained September 4, 2018 courtesy of the FBI shows Dawn Wallace, a conservator for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian's Conservation Lab in Washington, DC
A pair of ruby slippers featured in the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005 is shown on September 4, 2018 after being recovered in a sting operation
A close up image shows details of ruby slippers featured in the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz
The FBI said no one has yet been arrested or charged in the case, but they have 'multiple suspects' and continue to investigate.
As they unveiled the recovered slippers at a news conference Tuesday, they asked anyone with information about the theft to contact them.
'We're not done. We have a lot of work to do,' Christopher Myers, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota, said.
Myers said he would handle any prosecution. The North Dakota link to the case wasn't evident and authorities declined to explain it.
The slippers had been on loan to the Garland museum from Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw.
Three other pairs that Garland wore in the movie are held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Smithsonian and a private collector.
The stolen slippers' authenticity was verified by comparing them with the pair at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History in Washington.
The ruby slippers are key in the 1939 movie. After mysteriously landing in the colorful Land of Oz after a tornado hit her farm in Kansas, Garland's character, Dorothy, has to click the heels of her slippers three times and repeat 'there's no place like home' to return.
Rhys Thomas, the author of 'the Ruby Slippers of Oz' took a closeup photo of pair of ruby slippers once worn by actress Judy Garland in the 'The Wizard of Oz' during a news conference Tuesday, September 4, 2018, at the FBI office in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Minn. Authorities announced that the slippers, stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, were recovered in a sting operation
FBI Special Agent Jill Sanborn, left, and Grand Rapids Police Chief Scott Johnson, right, listen as U.S. Attorney Christopher Myers speaks during a news conference, Tuesday, September 4, 2018, at the FBI office in Brooklyn Center, Minnesotta
Rhys Thomas, author of 'The Ruby Slippers of Oz,' called the slippers 'the Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia.'
'They are maybe the most iconic cinematic prop or costume in movie history, and in fact, in cultural history,' Thomas said. 'They are a cultural icon.'
Thomas estimated that this particular pair could be worth between $2 million to $7 million. He said it's not clear in which scenes they were used, but he was '99 percent' sure that they appeared in the film.
Thomas said the slippers then went unseen for 30 years until Shaw, acting as a middleman, bought them for someone who intended to sell them to the late actress Debbie Reynolds, but Shaw ended up keeping them and often loaned them for exhibits.
Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Ray Bolger from the The Wizard Of Oz in 1939
The National Museum of American History in Washington, DC posted this happy tweet on Tuesday
Law enforcement offered a $250,000 reward early in the case, and a fan in Arizona offered another $1 million in 2015.
The shoes are made from about a dozen different materials, including wood pulp, silk thread, gelatin, plastic and glass. Most of the ruby color comes from sequins but the bows of the shoes contain red glass beads.
The genre-busting Wizard of Oz - presented in black and white, and color - was a box office smash and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, with wins for Best Song and Best Original Score.
Garland, who was born Frances Gumm, lived in Grand Rapids, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Minneapolis, until she was 4, when her family moved to Los Angeles. She died of a barbiturate overdose in 1969.
The Judy Garland Museum , which opened in 1975 in the house where she lived, says it has the world's largest collection of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.
The ruby slippers once worn by actress Garland in the 'The Wizard of Oz' are displayed again at a news conference Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/05/sting-operation-recovered-dorothys-stolen-ruby-slippers/
Main photo article A pair of ruby slippers used in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and later stolen from a Minnesota museum were recovered in a sting operation after a man approached the shoes’ insurer and said he could help get them back, the FBI said Tuesday.
The slippers were on loan to the Judy Garland...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/05/00/4FB402B700000578-6129897-image-a-11_1536103791772.jpg
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