Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Have Been Returned To Minnesota

Dorothy's ruby slippers from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz have been returned to a Grand Rapids Museum nearly two decades after they were stolen. Someone swiped the slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, but they were found in 2018 by the FBI.

Now, collector Michael Shaw says he will auction off the iconic movie memorabilia with Heritage Auctions. Before the auction the shoes will go on a tour that includes Los Angeles, Tokyo and New York.

"It's like welcoming back an old friend I haven't seen in years," Shaw told Heritage Auctions when the slippers were returned.

Shaw is a former child actor who got the slippers from a Hollywood costumer who had found them in a warehouse in the late 1960's. The Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids borrowed the shoes in 2005 for a festival, to be returned after ten weeks.

However, on August 28th, 2005, someone broke into the museum, broke the glass case holding the slippers and stole them... leaving behind a sole (no pun intended) red sequin.

Despite a million-dollar reward, the slippers were missing for nearly 20 years before being discovered as part of a 2018 sting operation carried out by the FBI. The Smithsonian confirmed the slippers' authenticity by studying their construction, materials and wear.

A man named Terry Martin has been indicted for the theft. He says he stole them thinking the shoes' famous sequins were genuine rubies and added that he'd never even seen The Wizard of Oz.

Heritage Auctions will host the auction of the slippers 'before year's end.'