[CPProt.net] Eagle-Eyed Garbageman Rescues Library's Stolen Bird

[Museum Security Network / Cultural Property Protection Net (Ton Cremers)]

Eagle-Eyed Garbageman Rescues Library's Stolen Bird

A trash collector rescued an antique stuffed bald eagle that had been
reported stolen from the Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport, Vermont, when
he discovered the bird in a garbage bag March 25 just before he threw it
into the truck's trash compactor. 
Library officials reported the bird missing from its display case March 23,
but believe the theft could have happened earlier, as the library has been
closed for several months for renovations, according to the March 26 St.
Johnsbury Caledonian-Record. The bird was part of a collection of mounted
and stuffed animals donated to the library in the 1920s.

Police Chief J. Paul Duquette credited publicity about the theft of the
protected bird-which is a federal crime-with facilitating its return. As the
anonymous garbage collector emptied bins in the alley behind the library,
Duquette said, something snagged his glove. When he looked in the bag, he
saw it was the talon of the missing eagle that had been in the news, and
immediately turned it in to police.

Posted April 1, 2005.

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