Ruby slippers worn in The Wizard of Oz found 13 years after being stolen from museum

Dorothy's slippers
(Image credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images)

There's no place like home, indeed. Over a decade after being stolen from a museum in Minnesota, a pair of ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz has been found.

The FBI said Tuesday that the iconic pair of shoes used in the 1939 movie was recovered this summer as part of an undercover operation, CNN reports. However, the investigation into who stole the shoes from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, 13 years ago remains ongoing.

The slippers were shown off to reporters in a glass case during a press conference Tuesday. "We reached the first goal — the recovery — and it's a great day," North Dakota United States Attorney Christopher Myers said. "But we're not done." The FBI did not offer further details about how exactly they recovered the shoes, which are worth several million dollars.

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Collector Michael Shaw originally lent the slippers to the museum, which is located in Judy Garland's hometown, and he declined to have them placed in a safe, per The Washington Post. Whoever stole them back in 2005 did so by breaking in through the window and shattering the glass display case, BBC News reports. The identity of the thief has long been a mystery and, as pointed out by BBC News, was even the subject of a short documentary called Who Stole the Ruby Slippers? — but now, it looks like we're one step closer to finding the answer.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.