Traffic stop leads to recovery of stolen art

It was a welcome phone call from the police for Ken Moen in early February.

Officers had called to let him know they had recovered half of the 12 pieces of art stolen the month prior from Gallery 421.

“I was happy to hear about it and happy to see that they weren’t too damaged,” he told Kelowna10.

In the wee hours of Jan. 15, two men made a short, unwelcome, and expensive visit to the gallery. In just under four minutes, the thieves made off with about $70,000 worth of work.

But information gathered from a traffic stop allowed members of the Kelowna RCMP’s Target Team to recover several of the stolen works on Jan. 31 in Kelowna. The Target Team investigates more complex property crime files.

In an email, spokesperson Cpl. Tammy Lobb said the investigation remains ongoing, and no charges are expected to be laid at this time.

The art has since been returned to the gallery.

One piece is chipped, Moen said, and others have damaged wooden bases, which are being repaired.

The entire ordeal has been frustrating, Moen said, who co-owns the gallery with his wife Kelly Hanna. They’ve had to balance beefing up security with avoiding “making the place look like a prison.”

But despite that, Moen said the support has been overwhelming.

“All of our clients, other galleries, artists have been reaching out to us. We’ve had some great support from the community, clients, and the artists,” he said.

Moen thanked the Kelowna RCMP for their work.

Anyone with information about the remaining missing pieces is asked to come forward.