In the hierarchy of movie memorabilia , one item has traditionally been value above Darth Vader ’s masks or Christopher Reeve ’s Superman leotards . Thesize fiveruby slippers outwear by Judy Garland in 1939’sThe Wizard of Ozhave long been hero-worship as the " holy grail " of collecting , according to expert . Only five surviving pairs of the many used in the making of the celluloid are known to survive , which made the theft of one pair in 2005 big news show .
Those slippers have just been recuperate , asThe New York Timesreports . But the question stay on — who took them home ?
On August 28 , 2005 , Garland ’s flushed - sequined shoes disappeared from under a smashed Plexiglass showing case at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids , Minnesota . Without security department footage or fingerprints , local and federal constabulary enforcement were left with a cold trail . The shoe did n’t belong to the museum , either : They were on loan courtesy of gatherer Michael Shaw , who originally buy them from an MGM employee name Kent Warner for $ 2000 in 1970 . With little hope of recovery , Shaw accepted an $ 800,000 payout from the insurance troupe .
In apress releasethat accompanied a printing press conference held Tuesday , the FBI announce that the case win momentum in summer 2017 , when an unnamed individual approached the insurance company and stated he had entropy about the location of the slippers . adjudge it an extortion dodge , constabulary in Grand Rapids consult with Union agents to plan and execute an undercover process that lead to their recovery this past summer in Minneapolis . The slippers were deliver to the Smithsonian , which compare the skid to a pair housed at the museum in Washington . Curators there declared them genuine .
Both police and the museum were puzzled by the heist , as it would ’ve been almost impossible to gain from the slippers without draw attention and questions as to how they were win . One pair remains in the Smithsonian and will bebackon presentation October 19 following restoration work ; another pair was purchased by a radical led by Leonardo DiCaprio for show in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures , due to open later in 2018 ; two others remain in the manpower of private collectors .
The FBI say the investigating into the theft is on-going and is recommend anyone with tips or entropy about the crime to get in touch with the agency at 1 - 800 - CALL - FBI ( 225 - 5324 ) .
[ h / tThe New York Times ]
