The Oakland Museum of California is missing over 1,000 items after someone broke into their storage area.
Police say the break-in happened early in the morning on October 15th. The thieves took things like Native American baskets, jewelry, old artifacts, and even some laptops. Among the stolen items were a necklace with shiny stones and a tusk with a picture carved on it.
The museum’s boss, Lori Fogarty, is very upset. She says it’s like the public is being robbed of California’s history. She also mentioned that most of the stolen items were gifts from people. The museum is working with the police and the FBI to get everything back.
Fogarty thinks the thieves just grabbed whatever they could find easily. She hopes the community can help get the stolen items back because they are important to everyone, not just the museum.
Experts think the stolen items might show up in local shops or online as the thieves try to sell them quickly for cash. The FBI’s special art crime team is helping to investigate.
The Oakland Museum of California has a lot of things related to California’s culture, environment, art, history, and science.
