Massive jade boulder back on display at B.C. store after heist
A 3,000-pound Jade boulder that was stolen from a B.C. gift shop last year is now on display again.
The massive mineral is an iconic landmark in the village of Cache Creek, where it sat outside Cariboo Jade & Gifts for decades until thieves with an excavator stole it overnight shortly before last Christmas.
The thieves were caught on camera, and two suspects were identified, but so far, no charges have been laid.
Shortly after the theft, police recovered the thieves' truck and trailer, but not the boulder. It wasn't until after Christmas that someone spotted the stone dumped in a snowy ditch and notified authorities.
With help from another local business, the jade shop recovered the boulder and moved it to a "secure location," according to store manager Heidi Roy.
"At first, we weren't sure we were going to put it back (on display)," Roy told CTV News Vancouver on Friday. "We were sort of tainted by the whole thing and we thought, 'You know, how can we prevent it from being stolen again?' It was concreted in there."
The jade boulder is worth roughly $50,000, according to the RCMP, but Roy says the value of the piece is in its size. The jade itself is too low-quality for jewelry, according to Roy.
"We weren't going to bother putting it back, but so many people have been asking and coming in wanting to see it that we thought, 'Well, how can we do something that's a compromise?'" Roy said.
"That's when we decided to try to put it inside, which was easier said than done because it weighs 3,000 pounds," she added. "We had to have the floor checked out to see if it could hold it and figure out the logistics of moving it, which was quite an ordeal."
The boulder is now back on display at the store, cleaned and polished, but still bearing a few signs of its journey.
"It has some chipping along the side," Roy said. "There's not much you can do to repair that, so people can still see it, but it's kind of like showing the scars of its adventure."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.