Long-missing Jackie Kennedy note recovered

DALLAS, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A note from Jacqueline Kennedy to Ethel Kennedy written after Robert F. Kennedy's assassination has been recovered years after it went missing, the FBI said.

The hand-written note of condolence, written after RFK's 1968 assassination, changed hands many times, going for as much as $25,000, after likely being stolen by a plumber from the former home of Robert and Ethel Kennedy in McLean, Va., the Dallas Morning News reported Sunday.

But while the FBI said it is investigating the disappearance of the note as a theft, the agency remains unsure when it might have been stolen.

Max Kennedy, son of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, learned in 2006 the note was at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas and contacted the FBI, the News said.

A Heritage spokesman told UPI the company worked directly with the Kennedy family to facilitate the letter's return. The FBI took custody of the letter Aug. 27, federal court records show, and it is now considered evidence in a criminal investigation, said FBI spokesman Mark White. He said the agency is making arrangements to return the note to the family.

"It's a personal possession of my mother and obviously extremely personal," Max Kennedy, a lawyer and author who lives in Los Angeles, said Friday. "I think most people would be heartsick if it happened to them."

In the note, Jackie Kennedy says she is concerned about Ethel Kennedy's health and her children. "You must be so tired," Jackie wrote. "I stayed up till 6:30 last night just thinking -- and praying for you."