Theft of Lincoln’s hand baffles Illinois Museum

Someone stole Abraham Lincoln’s hand. The crime had no witnesses. There are no suspects. The police are not even certain when the hand disappeared.

About all anyone knows is that a plaster sculpture of the 16th president’s hand, proudly displayed for years at the Kankakee County Museum, has been missing from its shelf since at least Dec. 11.

Any art theft would be jarring in Kankakee, a working-class city about an hour’s drive south of Chicago, but because of its connection to Lincoln, the loss of this sculpture has touched a nerve there.

 

 

NY Times