California

Eugene

(66,542 posts) Thu Oct 30, 2025, 10:21 PM 10 hrs ago

Oakland Museum of California's collection looted: Over 1,000 items stolen in early morning heist

Source: Associated Press

California museum’s collection looted: Over 1,000 items stolen in early morning heist

By HAVEN DALEY, JANIE HAR and OAKLAND
Updated 7:19 PM EDT, October 30, 2025

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Police in California are investigating the theft of more than 1,000 items from a museum’s collection including metalwork jewelry, Native American baskets and everyday items like athletic trophies that tell the story of the Golden State.

The burglary occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 15 at an off-site storage facility of the Oakland Museum of California, Oakland Police said in a news release Wednesday.

Lori Fogarty, the museum’s director, said Thursday the investigation was going public because the artifacts might show up at flea markets, antique stores or pawn shops.

“They’re not just a loss to the museum,” she said. “They’re a loss to the public, to our community and we’re hoping our community can help us bring them home.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/oakland-california-museum-theft-f40ead08d381eee98d9b7bbc86474398

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Oakland Museum of California's collection looted: Over 1,000 items stolen in early morning heist (Original Post) Eugene 10 hrs ago OP

Oh brilliant. usonian 10 hrs ago #1

usonian

(22,000 posts)

1. Oh brilliant.

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Thu Oct 30, 2025, 10:57 PM

10 hrs ago

John Romero, a retired Los Angeles Police Department captain who led the department’s commercial crimes unit, told the Los Angeles Times that the items may already have been sold since the burglary occurred two weeks ago. He expects detectives are looking at resale platforms such as Craigslist and Ebay, and networks that specialize in historic or collectible antiques.

Correct me if I'm off base, but wouldn't publishing a detailed list of stolen items, immediately, with pictures (presumably, everything was photographed in the past) have alerted millions of people to be on the lookout, and may have prevented some sales, devalued others "oh, that's hot as hell", maybe causing thieves to just dump items in an empty lot, and had millions of detectives on the case instead of a few (with a tip line, not weapons)?

And maybe the museum should have invested in some air tags?

I'm not being mean. I visited the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston long before it was robbed in what I believe is still the biggest art theft in history (Nazis excluded)

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