The missing pearl-covered $150,000 gown worn by Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o at the Academy Awards was apparently returned to the West Hollywood hotel from which it was taken, apparently by the thief who stole it.
Investigators were notified about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday of the theft of the pearl-adorned dress from the London West Hollywood hotel at 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., Nicole Nishida of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.
Sgt. Richard Bowman of the sheriff’s West Hollywood Station confirmed that the gown was recovered at the hotel today, but he declined to immediately release additional details.
Nishida later said the dress recovered today “greatly resembles the dress that was stolen,” but there was no way to immediately confirm “100 percent” it was the same one.
A representative of the 31-year-old actress reported the theft from the actress’ hotel room, which occurred “some time during the day” on Wednesday, Bowman said.
“Miss Nyong’o was not in the room at the time of the theft,” he said.
The dress, a white Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein gown decorated with 6,000 pearls, was a show-stopper on the red carpet before Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony. Its manufacturer valued it at $150,000, Bowman said.
But according to TMZ, the thief who took the dress from the hotel room after noticing a door was ajar returned it once he found out that two pearls he and others removed from the gown and brought to downtown Los Angeles’ garment district were fake.
The thief contacted TMZ about 2:30 p.m. today and revealed he left the dress in a garment bag inside a trash bag in a second-floor bathroom at the hotel and TMZ then contacted the sheriff’s department and the dress was recovered, the celebrity-focused website reported.
The thief said he returned the bag and called TMZ to show the world “Hollywood’s fake bulls**t,” according to TMZ.
Nishida confirmed that a dress greatly resembling the stolen garment was recovered after TMZ contacted the sheriff’s department about 3 p.m. today to report the anonymous call.
Nyong’o, who served as a presenter at Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2014 for her portrayal of an abused slave in that year’s best-picture winner, “12 Years a Slave.” She also appeared in the Liam Neeson thriller “Non-Stop” and will be seen in the highly anticipated “Stars Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.”
Anyone knowing more about the crime was urged to call the sheriff’s West Hollywood Station, (310) 855-8850; or Crime Stoppers, (800) 222-TIPS.
