Priceless gold is stolen in Yreka overnight and with it, thieves took decades of Siskiyou County history. It was part of a display that has been the courthouse for years
The news spread fast Wednesday morning and shocked locals.
“I am in shock, I am in shock, I have seen the gold in that display case for years as everyone has that goes into the court house,” said Margie Milnie one of many that stared at the court house this morning, in awe of the yellow police tape.
“Oh yeah, we have been violated, its something that stands out for all of us when you enter the courthouse in Yreka,” said Milnie.
Much of the gold, donated by Siskiyou county residents. The collection of over 500 ounces has been growing through the years, recently appraised at 3 Million dollars.
“They stole a piece of Siskiyou County history which we are not happy about,” said Sheriff Jon Lopey.
The front doors of the courthouse are blocked off with police tape and just behind those doors is the display case that contains the gold but sheriffs officials tell Action News, the thieves did not enter here, more likely a back window.
Thieves went to the display case and broke through the thick glass, stealing some of the biggest nuggets. Security cameras suggest the burglars were two men but no one has been identified.
“And right now I am not at liberty to give you specifics but we do have promising investigative leads on this burglary and theft,” said Sheriff Lopey.
Security systems were bypassed and the burglary went undiscovered until 7am. Surprising since the gold has been threatened before.
“There have been other attempts to steal the gold...a few years back a couple people tried to,” said Lopey.
Perhaps thieves learned from the mistakes others made in the past.
The Sheriff told Action News that as part of this investigation, he is going to look into why security measures at the courthouse did not alert law enforcement to the break-in.
