Stolen historic miner’s hat was thrown in the trash, Helper police say
Sep 10, 2024, 12:00 PM | Updated: 12:05 pm
Helper Museum reported a historic miner's hat missing, and likely stolen after Labor Day in 2024. (Helper Museum)
(Helper Museum)
HELPER — A 100-year-old miner’s hat might be permanently lost to time, as it was thrown in the trash weeks before it was reported missing, police say.
On Tuesday, the Helper Police Department said that after its call to action post on Thursday, investigators discovered that a juvenile had stolen the mining hat and headlamp long before it was discovered to have been stolen.
“The parent of the juvenile had discovered the item was stolen, from an unknown location, and discarded several items into the garbage approximately two to three weeks prior,” stated the police press release.
Police said the parent did not know that the stolen items were from the Helper Mining and Railroad Museum until the press release announcing the investigation of the stolen items. The two items have not been recovered.
The Helper Mining and Railroad Museum primarily includes artifacts from underground mines between 1880 and 1950, after large-scale coal deposits were found in Castle Gate. The museum said the stolen miner’s hat was from the Wattis Coal Mine.
Police are not releasing the identities of the parent or the child and did not say if charges are being pursued.
