Columbine yearbook stolen from owner

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LITTLETON, Colo., July 21 (UPI) -- An auction house removed a 1999 Columbine High School yearbook from its offerings after a Colorado woman reported the book was hers and had been stolen.

Bidding on the yearbook through the Nate D. Sanders Auction Web site had climbed to $700 before the Los Angeles company removed it, the Denver Post reported Thursday.

Sarah Bay, 29, said she wasn't aware her book was missing until a friend sent her a link to the auction through Facebook.

Bay called her parents who checked Bay's hiding place in her closet for the book, and confirmed it was missing.

The yearbook was published before the April 20, 1999, Columbine massacre in which 15 people were killed and included photos of the lost students, including the attackers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.

"The yearbook is interesting because it was published before the shooting happened, but all of the signatures and mementos were done after the shooting happened," Bay said. "It's an interesting dichotomy because the pictures show very happy, innocent people -- everything you associate with your junior year in high school -- but the signatures are a lot darker."

Bay said media outlets offered to pay students $10,000 to $15,000 for their yearbooks.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office it is working with the Los Angeles Police Department to return the book to Bay. The thief could face a misdemeanor theft charge, Jefferson police spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said.