Student Charged in Methodist Archives Theft
University seeks return of historical documents
Sunday, March 14—A Drew first-year student was arrested by the FBI this morning on charges of stealing and offering for resale historical documents from the Methodist Archives, including original letters signed by John and Charles Wesley. The student will be arraigned in federal court on Monday morning.
A preliminary audit by Methodist Librarian Chris Anderson indicates that 20 documents are missing. Seven are being returned by a rare documents dealer in London, who helped to break the case. Several others were in the student’s possession. The FBI is pursuing leads to recover the remaining documents.
The rare items were all catalogued and stored in a locked vault or a locked climate controlled area. The university believes that the student was able to gain access to these rooms through his job at the archives. The investigation is ongoing as is a detailed review of security measures at the archives.
Drew University thanks the FBI for its swift action and thorough handling of the case and is optimistic that all missing documents will be recovered.
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Posted: March 15, 2010
