The Oakland Police Department (OPD) announced last week that it is working with the FBI’s Art Crime Team and the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) to investigate a burglary at the museum’s storage facility two weeks ago.
According to a statement from the Oakland Police Department, on October 15, a suspect or group of suspects broke into the museum’s off-site collection storage facility and stole more than 1000 items, including jewelry, laptops, Native American baskets, daguerreotypes, and other irreplaceable artifacts and historic memorabilia. Under OPD’s direction, the museum did not publicize the theft initially but is now able to share additional information about the incident.
“Based on current findings, investigators believe this was a crime of opportunity, not a targeted theft,” museum leadership wrote in a statement. “There is no indication that the perpetrators specifically identified the facility as museum storage or sought particular artworks or artifacts. Instead, it appears they gained access and took items that were most easily available.”
OMCA has received “an outpouring of concern and support following news of [the]” and “are deeply grateful for our community’s solidarity as we work to address this serious loss,” the press release continued.
The majority of stolen items consist of historic memorabilia such as political pins, award ribbons, and souvenir tokens. Additional stolen artifacts of particular sensitivity include six Native American baskets, several 19th-century scrimshaw objects, and a number of daguerreotypes and modernist metalwork jewelry pieces, according to OMCA staff.
Museum staff noted that they have received “particular concern from the community regarding the stolen Native American baskets” and that OMCA “works in close collaboration with Indigenous communities and Tribes from across California and is in direct communication with the culturally affiliated Tribe connected to these stolen items.”
The Native American tribe has requested that their name not be made public and that OMCA not publicly release further details about the baskets.
“This is a loss not only for OMCA, but for the broader community,” said Lori Fogarty, Executive Director and CEO, Oakland Museum of California. “The Museum takes its responsibility to steward California’s history and cultural legacy with the utmost seriousness and remains committed to recovering the stolen items and ensuring their continued care for future generations.”
Anyone with information related to this case is urged to contact the Oakland Police Department Burglary Section at (510) 238-3951, or the FBI Art Crime Team at Tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.
