Judy Garland's iconic pair of ruby slippers, which she famously wore as Dorothy Gale in the legendary film: "The Wizard of Oz," has finally been reunited with its owner after years of being in "limbo" following its theft from the Minnesota museum built in honor of the actress.
According to a press release by the Minneapolis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), collector Michael Shaw was ecstatic after seeing the famed red shoes again, aptly reunited at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
Of the reunion, the FBI wrote: "When Shaw, accompanied by his niece, laid eyes on the slippers for the first time in nearly two decades, he likened the experience to a heartfelt reunion with a long-lost friend."
During the return ceremony, where the pair of ruby slippers was once more placed on their pedestal at Garland's childhood house-turned-museum, the Minnesota institution's Founding Director John Kelsh echoed Shaw's delight and said it is "grateful to be a part of [its] homecoming."
The Saga of Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers and Its Theft
As per the US District Attorney's Office of North Dakota, the shoes were first taken from the actress-honoring institution back in 2005 and it was only in 2018 that the pair of slippers were recovered following a sting operation in Minneapolis.
Two culprits in their 70s, Terry Martin and Jerry Hal Saliterman, were each charged separately for the theft, with the former pleading guilty last year and the latter being charged with the crime just this recent week. That said, Saliterman claims that he is innocent.
Before Saliterman was identified to be Martin's "partner-in-crime," Martin's legal counsel claimed that his accomplice at the time of the theft initially thought that the shoes were embedded with real rubies.
Instead, as per the Smithsonian, the shoes are just painted in red and decorated with sequins. Despite this fact, however, the slippers remain incredibly valuable due to their history and are estimated by the US District Attorney's Office of North Dakota to be about $3.5 million in value.
That price is soon to be tested, as the shoes are slated to go under the hammer soon in a sale facilitated by Heritage Auctions, following a months-long tour around the globe.
In a statement to KARE, the Garland Museum said that it is currently gathering the funds to buy the iconic slippers as a permanent display in the institution. This effort is supported by Minnesota state legislators, expressing interest in keeping the famed shoes at the museum.
In line with this endeavor, a state senator has even introduced a bill that could help allocate funds to the state's preservation society and purchase the famous sequined shoes for the museum.
