AT LONG LAST

Long Lost Statue of Jim Morrison Found by Accident During Police Bust

The 300-pound sculpture of The Doors’ frontman was stolen from his grave site in 1988.

A missing statue of late rock icon Jim Morrison has been found—by accident—37 years after it was stolen from his cemetery plot in Paris. The sculpture of the head of the Doors’ frontman was unearthed by police in Paris while investigating an unrelated fraud case. The white marble bus, by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin was initially installed in 1981 to mark the tenth anniversary of Morrison’s death at 27. New photos of the missing sculpture showed that no damage occurred during the lost years, aside from some graffiti and a damaged nose—which happened before it disappeared from the popular grave at the Père Lachaise cemetery. Doors fans still regularly leave notes, flowers and candles at the site. It remains unclear if the unearthed statue will finally be returned. Morrison’s grave has been under video surveillance since the 1988 theft. Fan theories suggest the 300-pound statue was strapped to the back of a moped and stolen in darkness. In 1994 two Americans were arrested while trying to place a replica bronze version of the bust at the grave site.