Oakland police released surveillance footage Monday afternoon showing two people who investigators believe stole more than 1,000 collection items from a storage facility belonging to the Oakland Museum of California last month.
Surveillance cameras captured two suspects wandering through the storage facility, one wearing a black beanie with a white face mask and the other clad in a blue hoodie and black gloves, according to images and video released by the Oakland Police Department.
Investigators sought help from the public to identify the two suspects.
Oakland police and the FBI Art Crime Team were investigating the incident, which happened around 3:30 a.m. Oct. 15 at an off-site facility where the museum stored collection items.
Police did not disclose the location of the facility. Records show the museum owns several warehouse buildings on the 400 block of Lancaster Street in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood.
The thieves made off with more than 1,000 items, including historic memorabilia, Native American baskets, 19th century scrimshaw objects, daguerreotypes and modernist metalwork jewelry pieces, according to the museum.
Investigators believe it was not a targeted theft, according to the museum. Rather, it appeared to be a “crime of opportunity,” in which the thieves “gained access and took items that were most easily available,” the museum said.
“There is no indication that the perpetrators specifically identified the facility as museum storage or sought particular artworks or artifacts,” the museum said in a statement released last Friday.
The Oakland Museum of California, or OMCA, offers a vast collection of art, history and natural science exhibitions inside a 110,000-square-foot gallery near Lake Merritt.
“This is a loss not only for OMCA, but for the broader community,” said CEO and Executive Director Lori Fogarty. “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 was asked to contact the Oakland police burglary section at 510-238-3951 or submit a tip to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
This article originally published at Oakland museum heist: Police release surveillance footage of 2 suspects.
