Los
Angeles – The Los Angeles
Police Department is investigating the weekend
theft of a plastinated specimen. The 13-week
old fetus, acquired from an old anatomical
collection was taken from Gunther von Hagens’ BODY
WORLDS 2:The Anatomical Exhibition of Real
Human Bodies at the California Science
Center.
The
theft was announced today with a plea from
Dr. Angelina Whalley, Director of the Institute
for Plastination and wife of the inventor of
plastination and creator of the exhibit, Dr.
Gunther von Hagens. “We ask for the public’s
assistance to please help determine the whereabouts
and secure the return of this historical specimen.
We are deeply concerned and disappointed by
the theft of this invaluable and irreplaceable
specimen. The fetus is a teaching treasure
and educational tool which we preserved for
the benefit of public knowledge,” Dr.
Whalley stated.
“We
are disturbed by this unfortunate incident,” Science
Center President Jeffrey Rudolph said, “and
sincerely hope the investigation will result
in the retrieval of the specimen and apprehension
of the thieves. However, we must not lose sight
of the fact that more than 900,000 people from
throughout the United States viewed the exhibit
and benefited through an increased understanding
of anatomy and physiology. The exhibit also
inspired people to make better choices for
a healthy lifestyle. Most importantly, we want
the public, which gave its tremendous support
to this exhibit to help us in getting the specimen
returned. If you know of any information that
might help the investigation, please call the
LAPD.”
The
BODY WORLDS exhibits, which premiered in the
Americas at the Science Center last July, were
the most successful traveling exhibits in its
history.
Worldwide,
more than 16 million people have seen BODY
WORLDS and this marks the first incident of
theft associated with the exhibit. This was
the first theft from any California Science
Center exhibit since it’s opening in
1998.
The
theft occurred in the early hours of Saturday,
March 26 during the final weekend of the exhibit
which officially closed at midnight on March
27. Science Center personnel are working closely
with L.A.P.D. investigators. A surveillance
video captured images of two suspects and police
are asking the public’s help in identifying
the pair. If anyone has any information leading
to the specimen, please call the LAPD at 1877-LAWFULL
(877-529-3855) for anonymous calls to the crime
hotline.
Note
to Editors: All further
questions should be directed to the LAPD
at 213-485-6795 for the Southwest Detective
Bureau.
|
