BELLVUE, Wash., July 13 (UPI) -- A trio of fast-moving thieves allegedly lifted a pair of Picasso etchings from an art gallery near Seattle this week.
Police were on the lookout Friday for the works that the gallery said were valued at $95,000 and were taken in a matter of seconds by two men while a young female accomplice distracted the employee on duty.
The theft occurred Wednesday at the Martin Lawrence Galleries in Bellevue where Picasso's "Young Man Kneeling Before Procuress and Others" and "Drinking Minotaur and Sculptor and Two Models" were on display.
Investigators told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the Picassos were on display at the front of the gallery. The young woman lured the lone employee to the back of the establishment while her accomplices apparently slipped in and slipped out with the art in about 15 seconds.
