TRANSCRIPT:
For thirteen years, no-one seemed to know where an iconic pair of ruby slippers - worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 classic film the Wizard of Oz - had gone.
The iconic sequined shoes - one of at least four pairs used in the film and still in existence - had been stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005.
Museum curator John Kelsh told CNN the culprit used a hammer to break in.
"They were in a plexiglass case right here... They broke in through that door. They smashed the window on that emergency window door."
But then, in 2018, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jill Sanborn announced a breakthrough: the shoes had been found.
"We're here today to share with you the recovery of one of the most significant and cherished pieces of movie memorabilia in American history."
Terry Jon Martin was identified as the thief, and after his conviction, the slippers were returned to collector and rightful owner Michael Shaw.
POLICE: "We want to formally return your shoes to you. And we thought that it was fitting to do it right here in the museum where they were stolen."
SHAW: "How do I feel? It's like welcoming back an old friend I haven't seen in years."
And now, in 2024, the shoes have had perhaps their final adventure.
The Heritage Auction house in Dallas, Texas were appointed to sell the slippers – and Heritage spokesperson Nikki Hale offered an initial estimated sale price: around $3 million.
"These are very, very special, very legendary and very rare in a lot of ways. Not only just that they're still with us after 80 years - and Judy wore them herself - but the fact they're in such good shape, the fact that they were gone and now they're recovered."
Yet that turned out to be a very conservative estimate.
Auctioneer Mike Sadler sold them for a far more stunning amount.
"And it sells to bidder number, $28 million. They have a bidder number. We'll get it. Ladies and gentlemen, the ruby slippers just sold for $28 million."
It's unclear who the winning bidder is.
But former owner Michael Shaw says he hopes that with the shoes, they feel like they're home.
"Let some other lucky person have possession, with the hope that whoever buys them will at least loan them to a museum so that people can see them."
