Last July 27 at approximately 1pm, the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, New Jersey, was relieved of 15 gold artifacts by two or more thieves who smashed through a ballistic plastic display case with a four-foot-long axe before making off in a getaway car with prized precious metal objects collectively worth about $750,000. Now the museum is offering a $25,000 for information leading to the gold’s return, the Asbury Park Press reports.

“It happened in between two tours of the safe that held the gold,” museum board of trustees member Robert Hauck told the APP. “They had about a 10-minute window to pull it off… They were in and out in two or three minutes. It was a smash-and-grab job.”

Seven months later, with the Ogdensburg police’s investigation into the robbery at an apparent dead end and no insurance money on the way — “they found a loophole,” Hauck said — the museum is offering a reward in a last ditch effort to retrieve the objects.

“They’re easily identifiable pieces, but I’m guessing they melted them down by now,” Hauck told the APP. “I can’t say I’m hopeful at this point. I’d be astounded if anything turns up… I’d like to have my gold back, but that’s a long shot.”

— Benjamin Sutton

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