Gretzky rookie card stolen 7 years ago finally returned to owner

A Kelowna, BC man who had his prized 1979 Wayne Gretzky rookie card stolen more than seven years ago has had the card returned to him by the RCMP.

The card was among dozens of items stolen from the home of Kelowna resident Ian Moore during a break-in in 2015. RCMP investigated the theft but ultimately, as is often the case with crimes like this, the case went cold. That is, until 2019 when police received reports of a suspicious vehicle in the area. When police investigated the vehicle, which was also stolen, they uncovered a treasure trove of stolen merchandise in the pick-up truck.

From CTV New Vancouver:

Also inside the truck, according to the RCMP, was an "abundance" of items allegedly stolen from a residence. The man and woman were arrested for being in possession of property obtained by crime, the RCMP said, and the items were stored as exhibits at the Kelowna detachment.

Wedged in with the rest of the items was the Gretzky card.

The card was stored away for some time, but this year, as the evidence was being disposed of, it drew the attention of RCMP personnel.

The RCMP said those staff members realized the value, did some research, then mentioned it to officers with the detachment.

That card was familiar to one officer in particular: Const. Rick Goodwin, who'd worked the original case.

Goodwin said in an RCMP news release that he'd thought of the 2015 break-in as soon as he heard about the vintage hockey card stored among other exhibits.

"I dug up the details of the old file and was able to track down (the original owner). I was surprised to learn he still had my old business card I had given him years earlier," Goodwin said.

The owner, Ian Moore, came in to the station and was able to describe the card he'd once had, "including unique details that only the owner would know," the RCMP said.

Moore even had records and documents he'd held on to despite the theft, showing that he did own the card.

Police returned the card to a thankful Moore, who said he was impressed by the constable who'd worked his case years ago and still remembered it.

- CTV New Vancouver

Police have not commented on the value of the card, but just last year a mint condition Gretzky rookie sold for $3.75 million. Cards with "slight imperfections" have sold in the range of $7,000 to $60,000. Needless to say, the owner is very, very, VERY happy to be reunited with his card.