According to French investigators, a sculpture of the late American singer and poet Jim Morrison that was reported missing from his gravesite in Paris nearly forty years ago has been located.
On Friday, the Paris Regional Judicial Police Directorate announced on Instagram that the monument of Jim Morrison, which was stolen from the Père Lachaise cemetery in 1988, had been recovered after a 37-year absence.
It was further stated that the Financial and Anti-Corruption Brigade, which is under the jurisdiction of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, recovered “this iconic symbol for the singer’s fans.”
The prosecutor’s office informed CNN on Tuesday that the discovery was a serendipitous one that occurred during a search that was commanded by an examining magistrate at the Paris court.
Jeff Jampol, the manager of the Jim Morrison Estate, expressed his satisfaction with the statue’s rediscovery in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. He stated, “Obviously, it is a piece of history that Jim’s family desired to have on his grave, so it is gratifying to see that it has been recovered.”
“We will now need to determine the condition of the bust.” he continued.
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Morrison, the charismatic vocalist of the 1960s psychedelic rock band The Doors, passed away at the young age of 27 in 1971.
Numerous music enthusiasts flock to his grave in the French capital.
According to the official tourism website of Paris, it is one of the most popular graves in the city, and it is located in the Père Lachaise cemetery. Crowds assemble there annually on the anniversary of his death, which is July 3.
According to the official website of the city of Paris, the bust, which was crafted by Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin, was affixed to his tombstone on the tenth anniversary of his passing. Nevertheless, it vanished in 1988.
In 1990, his parents replaced the grave’s monument, which had been damaged in the 1980s, with the Greek epitaph “True to His Spirit.”
In 1991, on the 20th anniversary of Morrison’s death, the police were compelled to use tear gas to disperse admirers from the cemetery as a result of their disruptive behavior.
Despite the prohibition of alcohol and music on the 30th anniversary, thousands of individuals continued to visit his plot to place wreaths and take photographs.
“A Doors song is played every day, somewhere in the world,” stated Ray Manzarek, the erstwhile keyboardist for the Doors, at the time. “The energy of Jim Morrison remains in the ether.”
Morrison relocated to Paris with his partner, Pamela Courson, in 1971 to concentrate on his poetry writing after departing the band.
Nevertheless, he passed away in their Paris residence later that year.
Courson informed the authorities that she had discovered the singer’s body in the bathtub.
His death was officially classified as cardiac failure; however, there was no autopsy performed, which has led to conspiracy theories.
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