Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Found By The FBI After 13 Years

Way back in 2005, the shoes worn by Judy Garland in 1939’s seminal fantasy classic The Wizard of Oz, were stolen from the Judy Garland museum in Minnesota. Now Variety are reporting that, after thirteen years, the iconic pair of shoes have been found by the FBI during a summer sting operation.

“At the heart of nearly every art crime, we see greed woven into the fabric of the scheme – greed to take it, and greed to profit from its return,” special agent Jill Sanborn said to journalists, “Dorothy’s slippers are a treasured piece of Americana, and we are hoping members of the public can help us better fill in the details that will finish the script of this mystery so we can hold accountable all those who were behind the scheme.”

The slippers had previously been insured for $1 million, and an anonymous donor had offered a further $1 million for the shoes’ safe return – and offer which expired in 2015. Multiple suspects have reportedly been identified, and police are closing in on those responsible.

The recently-recovered pair is one of four remaining in existence. Two are owned by private collectors, including a pair jointly-owned by Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg on display at the Academy Museum of Motion Picture. A final, fourth pair is at the Smithsonian museum.