If this all makes no sense, here’s a quick refresher: 1939’s The Wizard of Oz is an American musical movie starring Judy Garland in the title role of Dorothy. Young Dorothy gets caught in a tornado and finds herself in a magical place called the Land of Oz, the only way she can get home is by clicking the heels of her sequined ruby red slippers together three times.
So really, those ruby reds are Dorothy’s only way of getting home, it’s not like she could have called an Uber to collect her from the yellow brick road in the Land of Oz. Certainly no GPS system on the planet is going to be able to locate that address.
And like many other pieces of iconic movie memorabilia, one of the pairs of slippers Garland wore in the movie was on display in a museum, the Judy Garland Museum in Garland’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. But, unfortunately according to The Cut they were stolen back in 2005, leaving fictional Dorothy no way to get home.
Per the article the thieves were very targeted taking only the shoes and leaving “nothing but a few shards of glass and a solitary red sequin.” Which was a devastating loss for the museum, John Kelsch from the Judy Garland Museum told the Star Tribune, “France has the Mona Lisa. America has The Wizard of Oz. They’re [the shoes] are a symbol of longing for home – a symbol of a sense of place. Of any artefact from the movie, they touch that emotion in people.”
Plus, the shoes are very valuable both from a sentimental and monetary perspective, being one of only four pairs worn in the film that are still surviving. “At the time they went missing, they [the shoes] were insured for USD$1 million and on the 10-year anniversary of their disappearance, an additional USD$1 million reward was offered for their return,” The Cut reports.
But Dorothy fans can all breathe a huge sigh of relief, after 13 long years the ruby red slippers have been found by the FBI, who shared the news in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The Star Tribune reports the FBI said the slippers were found in Minneapolis in August after receiving “a tip”. No news on who the shoe culprit is and the FBI have reportedly asked the public to share any leads they uncover regarding the investigation.
