[MSN] Video shows flag theft

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

  Video shows flag theft


The Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in Canal Park today released 
pictures from a video taken on Aug. 28 of two thieves stealing a flag 
from the museum.

The video shows a man and a woman in their mid-20s to mid-30s entering 
the museum at about 1 p.m. and stealing a flag of the now dissolved Ford 
Motor Co. Fleet. The flag was kept on a back stairwell of the museum.

One of the thieves stole the flag while the other acted as a lookout, 
according to Thom Holden, the museum's director.

He said the pair was in the museum for about two minutes for a theft 
that seemed well-planned.

A washer attached to a screw that was used to hold the flag in place had 
been removed ahead of time to make the flag easier to steel, Holden said.

``They definitely had this one picked out,'' he said. ``We don't know if 
they were in several days before or earlier that day.''

They also picked a time where no one would be in that area of the 
museum. Holden said guests were either headed into a lecture hall for a 
program or headed outside the building for a walking tour.

``It was either coincidence or on purpose,'' he said. ``But I don't want 
to give them too much credit for being bright because they did it right 
in front of a surveillance camera.''

The flag is shaped like a pennant and has a blue strip at the top and 
bottom an with a yellow middle section. Holden said it is valued at 
around at $300 to $500.

He doesn't know why they picked that particular flag.

``Maybe one of them worked for the fleet,'' he said. ``I just have no 
idea.''

Holden asked anyone with information on the theft to call the museum's 
general number at (218) 720-5260, ext. 1.

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/15443889.htm