A mystery, 13 years in the making, appears to have been solved. Officials say the pair of ruby slippers stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota have been recovered. A formal press conference will be this afternoon in Minneapolis hosted by FBI Special Agent Jill Sanborn, North Dakota United States Attorney Chris Meyers and Grand Rapids Police Chief Scott Johnson.
The slippers were one of four surviving pairs worn by Garland in the 1939’s “Wizard of Oz”. They were taken from the museum shortly after 2 a.m. on August 28th, 2005. Someone broke a window on the museum’s back door, grabbed only the slippers and fled, leaving only a trail of broken glass. The museum had an alarm system and video surveillance but neither was working.
The shoes had been on loan from California collector Michael Shaw.
Three years ago, on the 10th anniversary of their disappearance, a $1 million reward was offered for their return but expired without anyone stepping forward.