12:50 P.M. SATURDAY UPDATE:
A lizard-shaped tie pin that once belonged to a 19th-century judge has been returned to an Arkansas history museum days after it was reported stolen.
According to a news release from the Fort Smith Police Department, the pin has been recovered and returned as of Saturday.
Authorities said the investigation continues into how the artifact was stolen, and no further information was released.
[Read the full story about the stolen pin from Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.]
FRIDAY STORY:
Authorities are investigating after a lizard-shaped tie pin that once belonged to a 19th-century judge was stolen from an Arkansas history museum.
About 2:30 p.m. Thursday, officers were called to the Fort Smith Museum of History, 320 Rogers Ave., according to a news release from the city's Police Department.
Museum workers had reportedly discovered a display had been moved. Upon closer inspection, they found that a gold, lizard-shaped tie pin was missing, police said.
According to the museum, the pin is one of the few remaining items that belonged to Judge Isaac C. Parker, who served at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas from 1875 to 1896.
The pin measures one and a half by one and a quarter inches and is marked "Tiffany," Leisa Gramlich, the museum's executive director, said.
The museum has set a $1,300 reward for information leading to the recovery of the "priceless artifact," the release states. Police also said anyone with information leading to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward up to $1,000.
Police have named no suspects, and no arrests had been made at the time of the report.
