“Found Five”

By Dagmar Lucak

Not so long ago, and not too far away,
These five faces were whisked away.

By some horrible people,
To a horrible place,
Till their beauty had withered,
A scowl on their face.

They were brutally handled,
Misshapen and broke
Traded and passed on
For meth and a toke.

But due to the efforts
Of one brave and bold,
Who risked his own safety
They returned to the fold

Their healing took months
And one didn’t quite survive
But here they are with us
The famous Found Five

The "Found Five" were found largely due to the efforts of Rick Easterbrook, the curator of the Hope Arts Gallery at the time of the break-in. He called in some heavy favours from some people in influential circles to recover all five of the masks that were stolen from the gallery. These masks were bound to cross the border into the US the next morning if they had not been discovered at the last minute.

The article below, which was in the local papers, had purposely incorrect information to help the RCMP figure out who knew the real info. In fact, there were five masks stolen, not four as stated in the article. Also, the gallery was broken into during the night, not shoplifted as the article claimed. The RCMP investigators figured that the thieves had a shopping list for specific items before entering the gallery.

All five masks were returned anonymously. However, they were all squished, with the frames broken, as if someone had purposely tried to rip and mangle them before returning them. Four out of the five masks were restored, with "Shelly Woman of Peace" being given to Rick as a thank you for his hard work in returning them. Along with a copy of the poem written about the ordeal, it hangs on the wall of his family room to this day on the outskirts of Hope.

"High Water," the brown one with the Mohawk, later found a home in Burnaby, BC. It is unclear where it is today.

"Proud Father," the smaller black one, was the most damaged and had an incredible story. While re-stretching his face, a small trickle ending in a tear drop formed on its own. It appeared to be caused by a scar or abnormality between the top and under parts of the leather. Regardless of what caused it to appear, it was almost spooky, as if the mask had really been hurt from suffering this ordeal. Later, it was purchased from the same gallery it had been stolen from in the first place. The man who bought it said it really touched something in his soul and he felt he was meant to have it as a source of his own healing for past father issues. It is hoped that it helped heal him or at least served as a reminder to be a proud father to his own children.

"Path Finder" was never fully restored to its former glory, but the best was done to fix it. It hung in the hallway of the author's Oma's home for many years until her recent passing. It now resides in the home of the author's Aunt Trudy and Uncle Tony in 100 Mile House in the BC interior. They also love it despite its shortcomings. It is in the company of two other masks that they also have in their log house.

"Huska," the golden girl with corn silk braids, is one of the author's favorite masks. She was returned only to be stolen again! She is still out there somewhere, and if anyone sees her, the author would appreciate an email or for her to be returned. She has "Shama Shamam" written on the bottom of the leather portion, corn silk braided hair, and corn husk paper-like bangs. Additionally, "Drummer's Boy," a golden leather mask of a young boy, is missing but not part of this particular theft. This mask had a picture of a native drummer burned into the leather to the left of the stretched face of the boy. It was stolen from another location a few years later and is still missing.

"The Found Five" are highly valued today for their extraordinary journey. When someone likes your art enough to break in and steal it, it makes you feel as though your children have been taken from you. It's horrible to have them stolen, but to have them returned is even more extraordinary and a blessing! The price of my art went up when Interpol had to be notified to watch for them. It was a bitter-sweet ordeal.