Amanda Bushong is offering a $5,000 reward for the return of her stolen safe, which is packed with highly valuable trinkets ranging from rare coins and stamps to a lock of hair from Alexander Hamilton.
Thieves steal safe containing lock of hair from Alexander Hamilton
âThat was the furthest thing from my mind, that somebody would come in and steal a 500-pound safe thatâs in your garage. It was hidden in the garage,â said the Northland, Missouri, woman.
A neighborâs surveillance camera captured images at 3:30 a.m. Thursday of men in a white SUV who picked the lock on Bushongâs husbandâs car and then opened the garage door with the garage remote in the car.
âThey picked the lock to it, open the garage, and like I said, waited to see if anyone came out and nobody did,â Bushong said. âOur lovely basset hound, who hears everything, did not hear anything that night obviously.â
The thieves then loaded the massive safe into the white SUV using a dolly.
âSomebody knew, somebody knew it was there,â she said.
Burglary victim offering cash reward for precious heirlooms
Bushongâs parents were noted historical collectors. Among the treasures inside the safe were coins from someone who rode with Jesse James and authenticated locks of hair from Alexander Hamilton and Jefferson Davis.
âRight now, theyâre estimating over $100,000 for each of the locks of hair,â Bushong said.
Bushong, who said she was in the process of insuring the items at the time of the theft, said sheâs hoping that someone who knows something will do the right thing.
âYou donât have to leave a name or anything for the $5,000 reward,â she said. âBut you can definitely call the Gladstone Police Department, and they are very much aware of this as well.â
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 â July 12, 1804) was an American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, and economist. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the founder of the nation’s financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper. As the first secretary of the treasury, Hamilton was the main author of the economic policies of George Washington’s administration.