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Anonymous ‘Wizard of Oz’ Fan Offers $1 Million Reward for Stolen Ruby Slippers
Photo: courtesy Profiles in History
Photo: courtesy Profiles in History
Alyssa Buffenstein
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Ten years after their theft, an anonymous Wizard of Oz superfan still feels like there’s no place like home for a missing pair of ruby slippers. The anonymous Arizona donor is offering a $1 million reward for information about the slippers’ whereabouts and the name of the thief.
The sequined slippers were stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they were on display temporarily on a loan from private collector Michael Shaw.
Breaking into the museum through a window, the thief was on a very specific mission: he stole just the ruby slippers.
The stolen ruby slippers were one of five estimated remaining pairs from the movie set.
Photo: Courtesy of Reed Saxon/AP.
“It’s the worst nightmare for me,” Shaw told the Guardian back in 2005. “The theft is not only a crime against me, but against children. Those shoes have been used to raise money for AIDS, for helping get kids off the street, reading programs, and for children with Down’s syndrome and autism,” he lamented.
Ten years after their theft, however, the slippers are still missing. They were insured for $1 million, the amount the anonymous donor is offering up in exchange for information, but, in light of recent auctions and museums dedicated to movie memorabilia, the missing slippers are now estimated to be worth closer to $2 million–3 million.
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