The sculpture, created by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin, was placed on Morrison’s grave in Paris’ Père Lachaise Cemetery to mark the tenth anniversary of his passing, on July 3, 1981.
However, the bust was stolen seven years later, in May 1988, with Vanity Fair noting that two individuals were reported to have taken the statue after being locked in the cemetery overnight.
After years of rumor and innuendo surrounding its fate, Parisian police have now announced the bust has been recovered, with its rediscovery occurring during a search related to a fraud case. No further details regarding its whereabouts for the past 37 years have been announced, nor has word been shared as to whether it will return to its original location atop Morrison’s grave.
Morrison would pass away in Paris on July 3, 1971 under murky circumstances at the age of 27. He was buried at the city’s Père Lachaise Cemetery where his grave site swiftly became one of the world’s most-visited memorials of a late musician.
