Jim Morrison's Long-Lost Bust Found By Chance in Police Raid
A bust of iconic rock singer Jim Morrison has been recovered nearly four decades after it was stolen from the Paris cemetery where he is buried.
The sculpture from the grave at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris was recovered during a police search of a property that was linked to an unrelated fraud case, according to the French capital's prosecutor's office, which Newsweek has contacted for comment.
The influence of Jim Morrison and his Los Angeles band The Doors has spanned generations since their heyday in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Morrison died aged 27 in the French capital in mysterious circumstances and four and a half decades later, his grave remains a pilgrimage site for fans.
The sculpture of Morrison was made by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin and had been placed at the grave to mark the tenth anniversary of his death in 1981, only to go missing seven years later.
The Criminal Investigation Department of the Paris Police Prefecture (DPJ-PP) said onInstagram that the bust of Morrison, "stolen in 1988 from the Père Lachaise cemetery" had been found.
The message was next to an image of the heavily graffitied and now recovered object weighing 250 pounds, which did not appear to have been damaged.
The bust was found by the financial and anti-corruption brigade of the judicial police department of the police, the Agence France-Presse reported.
The post prompted a range of comments expressing surprise and happiness. "Let's hope that it will end up in a museum, or even better, back in its original place," posted one user. Another wrote, "Bravo."
Morrison was foud dead in a bathtub in Paris on July 3, 1971. He had journeyed to the city shortly after recording "L.A. Woman," which was released in April to commercial success.
Heart failure was given as the official cause of death. Because it was deemed natural causes, an autopsy was not performed before Morrison was buried. His final moments have been shrouded in mystery.
The Criminal Investigation Department of the Paris Police Prefecture: "It was a chance discovery during a search carried out in connection with a case of fraud that led to the recovery of the bust."
It appears a decision has not yet been made whether the bust will be returned to its original sitting spot with Benoît Gallot, curator of the Père-Lachaise cemetery, telling Figaro that he has not been contacted by the police.
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