Overview
- Queensland Police traced a Toyota HiAce to the Redland Bay ferry terminal, finding most items in a campervan and arresting a 52-year-old on Russell Island with the missing wooden cat sculpture.
- The recovered objects include a 2,600-year-old wooden cat, a 3,300-year-old necklace, a mummy mask verified by the British Museum, and a delicate pectoral collar.
- The museum reports damage to several pieces, with at least one ring deemed irreparable, and has removed the items from display for professional conservation and gallery repairs.
- Detectives described the break-in as opportunistic and amateurish, noting the suspect had no fixed address, was living in a van, and did not appear motivated by financial gain.
- Miguel Simon Mungarrieta Monsalve faces charges including break and enter and wilful damage, with additional counts for trespass, assault and drug possession, and was refused bail in Cleveland Magistrates Court.