More than 1,000 historic artifacts, including Native American jewelry and relics, were stolen from the Oakland Museum of California’s storage facility.
The storage facility, which houses scores of antiquities tied to Native American tribes that once lived in the area, was broken into around 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, the Oakland Police Department said in a press release Wednesday.
Among the 1,000 items reportedly taken were jewelry, photos, laptops and art … though police say it’s unclear how many thieves may have been involved in the heist.
While the building is equipped with security cameras and alarms, there were reportedly no staff present at the time of the burglary, and employees weren’t made aware of the heist until the following morning.
“We think that this was more of a crime of opportunity than a strategic strike,” Lori Fogarty, the executive director and CEO of the museum, said in an interview with The Oaklandside.
The museum houses a plethora of artifacts frequently made available to researchers, scholars, and other institutions.
An exact dollar amount of what was taken is still being determined, as Fogarty said staff is working with insurance providers to try and determine the exact value of everything taken.
She said the decision to wait two weeks before making the burglary public was to help investigators work without significant interference from the public.
“Stealing from a museum is a federal crime. We have engaged deeply in the last few days with both OPD and the FBI, and they let us know that now was the moment to share this news with the public,” she said.
All of the 2 million artifacts at the OMCA are owned by the city of Oakland.
It’s not the first time the museum has been robbed. In late 2012 and early 2013, Andre Taray Franklin was caught selling an $800,000 Gold Rush-era jewelry box that was stolen from the museum.
He was later sentenced to four years in prison.
The news of the Oakland crime comes on the heels of scooter-riding thieves breaking into the Louvre in France, making off with some of the country’s most prolific jewels, including Empress Eugénie’s crown.
The crown was dropped during the thieves’ escape, but was damaged.
On Oct. 23, a trio dressed as construction workers busted into a home in Queens and made off with $3.2 million in jewelry and money hidden inside a safe.
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