More than 1,000 objects were stolen from the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA)’s collection earlier this month, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
On October 15, around 3:30 a.m., a thief or group of thieves broke into the museum’s off-site storage facility. They made off with a number of items, including jewelry, precious metals and pearls, Native American baskets and tools, antique daguerreotypes, and a collection of ephemera like political pins. They also stole laptops and cameras. The thieves did not enter through a door and there was no security staff on duty at the time of the heist.
A number of additional details surrounding the case have not been released, including the location of the breached facility while Oakland Police Department and the FBI’s Art Crime Team, comprised of roughly 20 agents, continue to investigate. The announcement of the theft was delayed to avoid jeopardizing the investigation, according to authorities.
At this time, a select number of staff, including security guards, are allowed to work at the site. Employees are not currently being investigated as suspects. No one has been arrested in connection to the burglary.
The 100,000-square-foot warehouse holds more than two million historical artifacts, many of which have been donated to the OMCA.
“This is our shared cultural legacy,” Lori Fogarty, director of the Oakland Museum of California, told the San Francisco Standard. “In almost every case, the vast majority of our collection comes to us by gift, and we take it on as our responsibility to preserve it in the interest of the public and in the interest of the community. That’s why we want to put the word out to the community that this has happened and we’re hoping for help.”
This the third time that OMCA has been hit by burglars over the last 15 years. Two high-profile thefts were executed in 2012 and 2013 by Andre Taray Franklin, who was ultimately convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.
The OMCA has a wide-range of objects spanning art, history, and natural science on view at its 110,000-square-foot gallery spread across seven acres.
