LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Police are searching for the culprits behind an art heist in a Las Vegas Valley home, after thieves broke in and took works of art off the walls.
The theft happened late July in a neighborhood near Russell Road and Eastern Avenue.
84-year-old Delilah Jones woke up from an afternoon nap, discovered her sliding door open and a case of belongings tossed on the floor.
“It’s such an invasion of privacy. I was in shock,” Jones said. “Then I realized what they did and why they came in. Pictures were gone, pictures were gone from the wall. I said, ”I’ve been robbed!” she said.
Jones called the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and reported five paintings missing; she later discovered a sixth gone. In the police report, officers recorded the value of the works totaling around $5,000.
Four of the works of art were original pieces by Jones’ mother, Charlotte Gohlke, who painted for celebrities from the 1960s onwards.
Jones said the paintings remind her of her mother’s resilience: Gohlke survived World War I and WWII in Nazi-occupied Germany and the bombing of Berlin. In the 1950s, Jones moved to the U.S. with her mother.
Gohlke passed away in 2013 at 96 years old.
“My mother passed away about 12 years ago now and so they are in our family. They have been with us,” Jones said.
Thieves also stole a painting of a child that was purchased, as well as a high-end replica of the Mona Lisa.
Contractors have been doing work on the home, recently, and Jones wonders if the thieves spotted the works of art and wanted to sell them.
Jones has alerted art auctioneers, pawn shops and social media of the theft, urging people to be on the lookout for the works of art or any people trying to sell them.
If you have any information, contact LVMPD.
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