Three Olympic medals that belonged to a member of the US women’s volleyball team were taken from a Southern California home, prompting authorities to search for them on Thursday.
The team received gold from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, silver from the 2012 London Games, and bronze from the 2016 Rio Olympics, according to a statement from the sheriff’s department.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the medals were in a safe that was stolen during a burglary on October 29 and were being temporarily held at a residence in Laguna Hills.
It was the team’s first Olympic gold, and Team USA won it by sweeping Brazil. The three medals that were stolen are being sought after by the sheriff’s office. Anyone who notices someone wearing a medal when they shouldn’t is urged to contact the sheriff’s office.
The athlete’s identity was not released by the sheriff’s office. Investigators are collaborating with USA Volleyball and the athlete, according to department spokesperson Carrie Braun.
A medal belonging to a player on the women’s volleyball team has been taken in Orange County twice already this year. After her car was broken into in an Anaheim parking garage on May 25, Jordyn Poulter reported the theft of her 2020 gold medal, according to police.
Detectives later detained a suspect in the heist, but they were unable to find the stolen medal right away. After the proprietors of an Anaheim barbershop reported discovering the medal in a plastic bag left outside their establishment and turned it over to authorities, it was ultimately returned in June.
Police have charged a 31-year-old Anaheim resident with the theft who has a long criminal history.