Ninety miles north of Seattle and twenty-one miles south of the Canadian border, Bellingham Police are investigating a theft from the Whatcom Museum's recently designed Lightcatcher building.

While police have not indicated what was stolen, the theft occurred on May 3rd and involved an object valued at $15,000.  Appealing to the public for help, law enforcement officers have asked if anyone can identify this person of interest, seen photographing what appears to be an object from the museum's Jeweled Objects of Desire exhibition. 

This exhibition, which ran from February 10th through May 6th, featured the jewelled luxury art of artist Sidney Mobell. Mobell may be best known for adding bling to mundane everyday objects including a gold mouse trap with a wedge of cheese set with pavé diamonds, a 14-karat gold sardine tin embellished with fifty-five Russian diamonds, a 24 karat gilded mailbox with a sapphire eagle as well as a freshwater pearl and gold wire-encrusted corncob by designer John Hatleberg.  

Persons with information about this individual should contact the Bellingham Washington Police by calling +1 360-778-8800 referencing case No. 18B-25214.

Summer Clowers, ARCA '13 

After many impassioned arguments for the reinstatement of London's Art and Antiques squad London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, has confirmed that the deactivation of the New Scotland Yard unit has been solely temporary.  The squad's three officers, Detective Constables Philip Clare, Sophie Hayes and Ray Swan had been seconded to other duties temporarily as the result of unprecedented demands on law enforcement in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy.   

Later this month, a newly appointed permanent unit head, Detective Sergeant Rob Upham, will take up the post vacated by DS Claire Hutcheon who retired from the Art and Antiques unit last March.  

The Art and Antiques Squad of the New Scotland Yard is a specialised police responsible for the investigation of art and heritage crime in London.  The unit is situated within the section for Economic and Specialist Crime in the Metropolitan Police Service and is responsible for the London Stolen Art Database, a police register which stores information and images of 54,000 items of stolen property.