Neil Armstrong's Solid Gold Replica Of Lunar Module Stolen In Ohio

WAPAKONETA, OH — A solid gold replica of the 1969 Lunar Excursion Module that landed on the moon was stolen from the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio late Friday night.

Police in Wapakoneta said they responded to a burglary alarm at the museum just before midnight on Friday.

The piece stolen from the museum was designed by Cartier and is one of only three to exist in the world, one for each astronaut who completed the mission. It was presented to Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in Paris shortly after the moon landing. Armstrong, a native of Wapakoneta, was the first man to step on the moon in 1969.

"A value of such an item cannot be determined," police said.

The investigation is ongoing and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the FBI are involved in the investigation.

"The truth is that you can't steal from a museum. Museum's don't "own" artifacts. We are simply vessels of the public trust. Museums care for and exhibit items on behalf of you, the public," the museum said in a statement posted to its Facebook page. "Theft from a museum is a theft from all of us. Three hundred people driving from across the country were robbed of their opportunity to experience the museum today. For every day that an item is missing, we are all robbed of an opportunity to enjoy it and our history."

The piece is about five inches tall and four-and-a-half feet wide.

Image via Wapakoneta Police