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Utah art dealer Lee Snarr credits divine intervention for the recent recoveries of several expensive religious artifacts — as well as the trailer hauling them — that were stolen last month minutes after he parked outside a downtown Reno casino for a dinner break.
“I know without any doubt that God had a hand in them being restored to me,” Snarr said Wednesday. “It’s quite a miracle.”
Over the weekend, seven of the eight stolen statues were found in Sun Valley by a couple walking their dog, authorities said.
Last month, Snarr’s trailer and two Mormon holy books from the 1800s were recovered by Reno police. The third stolen bible was recovered by a Reno Gazette-Journal reporter who turned it into police.
Snarr said he is confident the last stolen item — a 42-inch, 120-pound statue of Joseph Smith and Joseph Hyrum — will find its way back to him.
“With the value of the sculpture, I sure wouldn’t want to be caught with it,” Snarr said of the $25,000 statue.
Snarr, of Salt Lake City, said his recovered property is in good condition and he still plans to sell it. When the items were stolen, he had been en route to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend an art show where he said he had buyers lined up. The theft occurred Oct. 11 in the parking lot of Diamonds Casino, 1000 E. Sixth St.
The property — with a combined value of about $400,000 — was not insured, Snarr said.
“That was my retirement fund,” he said.
Snarr has three children in college and supports a son who is working as a Mormon missionary in Brazil.
“It would have been a huge financial loss for my family and we are sure relieved we have gotten these items back,” he said.
http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2004/11/17/85520.php
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