[meteorite-list] Canyon Diablo Meteorite Stolen From Denmark Museum Is Returned

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:00:07 2004
Message-ID: <200207171614.JAA13737_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://cphpost.periskop.dk/default.asp?id=23072

Kid heisted space rock, dad's pal says
By Andy Bromage
The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)
July 12, 2002

A meteorite stolen from Hellerup's Experimentarium was returned this week
'on behalf' of the six-year-old boy allegedly responsible for lifting it.

A three-kilogram, iron meteorite was returned to Hellerup's Experimentarium
this week after museum officials issued a DKK 20,000 reward for the recovery
of the stolen space relic.

The alleged culprit was neither Lex Luthor nor an experienced museum
smuggler, but a six-year-old boy.

Fears that a master criminal was at large were allayed this week when a man
returned the irreplaceable rock to the museum.

The man explained that it was the six-year-old 'son of a friend' who had
taken such a liking to the meteorite that he ripped it from its protective
wires, placed it in his rucksack, managed to seek out of Experimentarium,
escaping the notice of museum staff. After reading about the theft in the
press, the man agreed with his 'friend' to return the meteorite-and claim
the DKK 20,000 reward.

'The meteorite is an irreplaceable object that has significant meaning for
the natural sciences and for the exploration of the universe's origin and
development,' Experimentarium's director Asger Høeg said last week in an
appeal for the rock's safe return.

The meteorite originates from the Barringer meteor crater near Winslow,
Arizona, U.S.A., where 50,000 years ago a 50,000-ton meteor slammed into the
earth's surface, leaving a mile-wide scar in Arizona's northern desert.
Denmark acquired the meteorite in 1949 from Arizona as part of an exchange.

Although the police have now declared the case is closed, Høeg said he found
it hard to believe that a six-year-old boy had such supernatural strength to
remove and then walk out with the rock. 'It would have taken a long time,
and he would have to have displayed extreme cunning.'

Despite the happy resolution of the Hellerup 'heist,' the swarm of media
coverage following the discovery that the meteorite was missing indicates
that scientists are not the only ones interested in collecting
extraterrestrial rocks.

Thousands of private collectors are willing to pay high sums to acquire
meteorites, providing a hefty incentive to would-be burglars.
Received on Wed 17 Jul 2002 12:14:26 PM PDT