Art recovered, birds still missing, in Brevard County caper
Missing Highwaymen paintings found
Some unique antiques are back where they belong after authorities said they were stolen. Before desegregation, 26 black artists known as the "Highwaymen" began producing landscapes with flavors of Florida. Some of the men are still alive, and approximately 200,000 pieces of art are out there.
Melbourne, Fl. - An art thief is on the run from the law. He’s also wanted for stealing five tropical birds, but investigators just got a big break.
Some of the stolen goods have already been returned to their proper owner and she’s still holding onto hope that her most prized possessions- her pets- could be found.
First, the paintings. Before desegregation, 26 black artists known as the "Highwaymen" began producing landscapes with flavors of Florida. Some of the men are still alive, and approximately 200,000 pieces of art are out there.
At first, the movement was dismissed as basic living room decor, but now the paintings are hot items, historical, and when they are bought and sold, folks pay attention. A collection of the paintings and the grandfather clock turned up at an auction house in Vero Beach.
Management there learned they had been stolen in a burglary spree this past summer in Brevard County. The dealer called Melbourne Police.
The information the dealer provided helped detectives hone in on 67-year old George Rivera of Satellite Beach. If you know where he is, Melbourne detectives want to hear from you. And the woman who got burglarized wants him in cuffs too.
Elise Vaughn talked with FOX 35 News about her five birds - stolen the same night the art was swiped. She doesn’t have photos of them, but she described them:
"Little Jim is the one I’m mourning the most, he was an African Gray. I had him for over 30 years, hatched him in the incubator, had him from moment one. There was ‘Redneck,’ another African Gray. Then a scarlet macaw called "Buffett" like Jimmy Buffett. There was a blue and gold macaw "Mac" - short for McKenna. And a blue front "Amazon." Vaughn said.
She says she was thrilled to get back her clock and some of her highwaymen paintings, but with the birds still gone, she says a part of her is missing.
"For a while, I had kind of given up, but now it’s getting another surge of attention." Vaughn said.
The detective on the case he says it’s possible the birds were sold or dropped off at a shelter and they could be anywhere in the Southeast.
The birds are not rare or valuable, but as Vaughn told us, very loved and very missed.