A memorial bust of American singer Jim Morrison that was stolen from his grave 37 years ago has been found by chance, according to French police.
The statue of The Doors frontman was recovered in Paris during an investigation conducted by its financial and anti-corruption arm that was unrelated to the original theft, it said in a post on Instagram.
Morrison’s grave has long been a site for fans of the rock band to pay their respects in an unusual way – graffiti sprawls across neighbouring gravestones in the poet’s corner of the famous Père-Lachaise cemetery, which also houses the tombs of Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde.
Little information has been released about the investigation and no suspects have been named in the theft of the statue of the singer, who died in 1971.
The police made the discovery when looking into a case of fraud, a source close to the investigation told news agency Agence France-Presse.
It is not clear if the bust will be put back on the grave, with the cemetery’s curator telling Le Figaro: “The police haven’t contacted us, so I don’t know whether the bust will be returned to us.”
Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin carved the statue from white marble to mark the 10th anniversary of the singer’s death. But it disappeared in 1988, seven years after the bust was placed at the site.
A picture released by the French police shows the statue’s mouth and nose missing, as they had been before it was stolen.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, a representative of the Morrison estate said it was “happy to hear the news” that the “piece of history” had been found, adding that Morrison’s family wanted it on the grave “so it’s gratifying to see that it’s been recovered”.
This is not the first time the singer’s grave has been the source of controversy. On the 20th anniversary of his death fans rioted at his grave and had to be dispersed by police.
Morrison was living in the Marais district of Paris when he died suddenly at the age of 27.
He was found dead in the bath by his girlfriend, Pamela Courson. A doctor’s report stated the cause of death was heart failure aggravated by heavy drinking.
Morrison, the son of a US Navy admiral, was born in 1943 in Florida.
He formed The Doors with keyboardist Ray Manzarek in 1965 in Los Angeles
The band name was inspired by Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, about the author’s drug use.
Credit: BBC