A royal family’s crown jewels have been stolen, leaving police to chase the suspect by helicopter, boat, and car.
Priceless jewels from the Swedish Royal Regalia were stolen on Tuesday according to Royal Central . The jewels were stolen from Strangnas Cathedral in Sweden while on display in a locked case. The crowns are burial crowns from 1611, of King Karl IX and Queen Kristina. A royal orb was also stolen during the heist.
Catharina Frojd, a spokeswoman for the 14th-century cathedral, told the Associated Press the thieves set the alarms off.
“The alarm went off when the burglars smashed the security glass and stole the artifacts.”
Two suspects were seen fleeing the cathedral on a motorboat, police surrounded the city as well as the river. A police spokesperson, Thomas Agnevik, described the value of the stolen items.
“I have talked to a person at the county administrative board that says that it is not possible to put an economic value on this. These are invaluable objects of national interest.”
Although the items are extremely valuable, Maria Ellior, of the Swedish police’s National Operations Department doubts thieves will have financial gain from the heist. She said the jewels will be “impossible to sell” due to their uniqueness and high visibility.
By boat, the thieves could reach a number of cities, lead police to expand their search east and west of the cathedral.
“We are looking for a small and open motorboat,” Agnevik said. “We have some different information about how exactly the boat looked. We are now examining all the tips we receive.”
The cathedral, just 50 miles from Stockholm, was open to the public at the time the jewels were stolen according to the police spokesperson. The church wrote on their website that the stolen jewels were kept “in accordance with the prevailing safety regulations in locked and alarmed displays in the cathedral.”
The men are said to have escaped the cathedral with the jewels on two black bicycles, likely stolen before the heist, to ride to the waiting boat, said police spokesman Stefan Dangardt.
Divers were sent to look for clues along the shores and in the waters of Lake Malaren, Sweden’s third-largest freshwater lake, according to the Associated Press. With few eye witnesses, the police are left to theories of how the thieves escaped with the jewels, saying they could have fled even further on jet skis.
The Gothic-style cathedral was closed Wednesday and cordoned off as police continue to inspect the grounds for clues.
