The Missing

As if the Longfellow Bridge didn’t have enough problems already. Department of Conservation and Recreation officials report that the span’s decorative trim, which had been sitting in a lumberyard while the bridge is under repair, has gone missing.

The 2,347 linear feet of cast iron, which is worth $10,000 if it’s sold for scrap, is just the most recent high-profile loss. Let’s review some other thefts and losses that hurt local pocketbooks almost as much as they do our civic dignity.

Woman and Child
Missing since: November 2007
This 1921 painting by cubist Fernand Leger got lost somewhere between the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and Wellesley College’s Davis Museum and Cultural Center. Museum officials suspect it may have accidentally been thrown out.
Value: $100,000 reward from the museum’s insurance company if you find it; approximately $2.8 million on the market.

Several paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Missing since: March 1990
According to the FBI’s Art Crime Team (where’s that Law and Order franchise?), two unknown men gained entry to the museum by pretending to be Boston cops, then lifted works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Degas.
Value: $5 million if you help authorities find all the stolen works; $300 million on the market.

Manhole Covers
Missing since: People got desperate for cash
Cities around the country are working to secure the metal discs after a rash of thefts. Locally, Fall River has been plagued by the problem.
Value: $10 when scrapped, $125 for the city to purchase a new one.

Photo from the Massachusetts Highway Department website