More than 1,000 artifacts were stolen from the Oakland Museum of California's offsite storage facility in a crime that occurred in the early hours of Oct. 15, according to police. The thieves made off with a wide array of items, including jewelry, laptops, Native American baskets, and daguerreotypes, the Oaklandside reports. The theft "represents a brazen act that robs the public of our state's cultural heritage," Lori Fogarty, the museum's CEO, said in a statement, per the Guardian.
The Oakland Police Department announced Wednesday it is working with the FBI's Art Crime Team to investigate the break-in, which was discovered by the staff the next morning. The delay in announcing the burglary was intended to avoid compromising the investigation, museum officials said, per the New York Times. Fogarty described the theft as a "crime of opportunity" rather than a targeted operation, noting that most of the stolen objects, which included historical artifacts and art pieces, were small.
The exact location of the storage facility has not been disclosed, but Fogarty said that the building was equipped with cameras and alarms, and that the collection is used by researchers and other institutions. The museum is working with insurance providers to assess the total value of the loss and is reviewing security protocols. The City of Oakland owns the museum's collection of more than 2 million artifacts, per Oaklandside. Most of the items taken consist of common memorabilia such as political pins and souvenir tokens. But the thieves also made away with objects such as neckpieces by Florence Resnikoff, an artist who was based in Oakland, and a pair of scrimshawed walrus tusks carved in the 19th century.
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