A long-lost autographed soccer jersey is being returned to its rightful owners after it was stolen from a London, Ont., residence nearly 20 years ago.
The yellow Brazilian soccer jersey, which is signed by soccer greats Pele and Hugo Perez, was stolen along with other soccer items and jewelry during a residential break-in in December 1994.
In a statement, London police say they recently recovered the prized keepsake, but were initially stumped as they tried to determine the authenticity of the jersey, and find its owners.
Making the case more difficult was that police records pertaining to the break-in had been “purged,” investigators said.
“Both London Police Service and insurance records were gone and the insurance company never paid out for the jersey,” the statement said.
The few details police had about the case were the ages and gender of the two officers who had attended the call back in January 1995.
On July 17, police circulated a call for any members of the service who knew about or worked on the case.
After searching through duty book notes, Det. Mark McGugan was able to track down a retired detective, who had worked on the case in the forensic identification section.
“The long lost jersey is finally being returned to its owner,” police said.
