Museum visitor pockets part of $70,000 art piece and walks out, Oklahoma cops say
An Oklahoma museum has tightened its security after part of a larger art installation went missing, museum officials said. The stolen art piece was later returned to the museum.
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art did a routine check of their art galleries on Oct. 14 and discovered an item was missing, the museum’s CEO and president, Michael Anderson, told McClatchy News on Dec. 27. The piece was stolen from an art installation worth $70,000.
“To our knowledge, it’s the first time anything has gone missing from the museum,” Anderson told KFOR.
The museum alerted the Oklahoma City Police Department and reviewed its security footage, identifying a “probable suspect,” Anderson told KFOR.
Security footage from Oct. 11 showed a man take the glass art piece off a display table, put it in his shorts pocket and walk out of the museum, The Oklahoman reported, citing an affidavit filed by police on Friday, Dec. 16.
The suspect was a member at the museum, a museum spokesperson told McClatchy News.
The stolen piece was recovered less than a week after the museum discovered it missing, Anderson said. “It was returned anonymously to the museum,” he told The Oklahoman.
The 56-year-old suspect is facing a charge of grand larceny, The Oklahoman reported.
Following the incident, the museum said it has “implemented additional security measures to ensure this will never happen again,” per Anderson’s statement.
“We look forward to continuing offering Museum-goers the highest-quality experiences, and bringing world-class exhibitions to the heart of Oklahoma,” Anderson said.
This story was originally published December 27, 2022 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Museum visitor pockets part of $70,000 art piece and walks out, Oklahoma cops say."
