Delta police are looking for the public’s help in finding a unique and valuable piece of art stolen in Ladner.
At around 10 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a report of a robbery on the street in the 4700-block of 57th Street.
The victim suffered some minor injuries in the altercation and was treated in hospital before being released. The thief took a multi-million-dollar golden eagle statue.
A/Sgt. Sarah Swallow said the investigation is still in the early stages and police are working with the victims and witness to establish exactly what happened before releasing a description of the suspect, or any details about the crime.
The statue is a custom hand-made, free-standing eagle measuring 26 centimetres by 10 centimetres and made from white and yellow gold.
The eagle’s head features 763 pave-set diamonds, totaling 53.66 carats, and the eyes are two bezel-set pear-shaped diamonds totaling more than two carats.
The eagle is standing atop Joy’s Rock, which was sculpted out of yellow gold and features the Atocha Star emerald, which weighs close to 13 carats.
At a news conference Monday afternoon, owner Ron Shore said the eagle was in transit Sunday night after being displayed at Art Vancouver over the weekend. Shore was being accompanied by security personnel when the robbery occurred.
"I struggled as hard as I could yet was unable to prevent the robbery," he said.
Shore said he created the statue as part of his campaign, The Ultimate Treasure Hunt, to raise money to help find a cure for breast cancer after the death of his sister-in-law to the disease. He said he was inspired to do something more after his brother died from cancer a year later. His goal was to sell the statue to raise money for a series of benefit concerts.
Det. Brad Cooper said the investigation is still in its infancy, and little information is being released at this time. However, he did say there were a large number of witnesses to the crime and investigators have also been able to obtain a substantial amount of video surveillance from the area where the robbery took place.
Delta police are asking anyone with any information about the whereabouts of the statue, or the crime, to call 604-946-4411. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or solvecrime.ca.
