18 years after theft, man charged with stealing famed 'Wizard of Oz' ruby red slippers

Several years after it was stolen, a septuagenarian has been charged with reportedly stealing the iconic pair of ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie 'The Wizard of Oz'.

The accused Terry Martin, 76, reportedly stole the glittery shoes, currently valued at $3.5 million, from a museum in Garland's hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota in August 2005, according to federal prosecutors in North Dakota, reports nypost.com.

He was indicted by a grand jury and charged with one count of theft of a major artwork on Tuesday.

Martin is accused of climbing through a window of the building and smashing a small display case then bolting with the fabled footwear, according to the feds.

The shoes were recovered during a 2018 FBI sting though it wasn't immediately clear why it took five more years to indict the alleged slippers snatcher.

When the owner of the prop Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the museum got the slippers back, he was pleased to find them in 'pristine' condition, CBS reported in September 2018.

On Wednesday, prosecutors said that when the slippers were stolen, they were insured for $1 million, and they now have a market value of roughly $3.5 million.

In a memorable scene from the classic movie, Garland's character, Dorothy, clicks the heels of her technicolour slippers and says 'there's no place like home' to return to Kansas.

Martin also has a 1986 felony conviction for receiving stolen goods in Hennepin County, Minn. His indictment did not provide any further information about Martin or why North Dakota feds were assigned to the case.

(with IANS inputs)