Police Find Jim Morrison’s Stolen Gravesite Bust After Nearly Four Decades

A bust of singer Jim Morrison that was stolen from “The Doors” legendary frontman’s gravesite in 1988 has been recovered by accident, French police have announced.

“After 37 years of absence, the bust of Jim Morrison, stolen in 1988 from the Père Lachaise cemetery, has been found,” the Paris Regional Judicial Police Directorate said in an Instagram post.

“During an investigation conducted by the Financial and Anti-Corruption Brigade of the Directorate of Judicial Police of the Prefecture of Police, under the authority of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, this iconic symbol for the singer’s fans was recovered.”

The prosecutor’s office called it a “chance discovery made during a search ordered by an examining magistrate at the Paris court.”  

Morrison, former singer of The Doors and best known for songs such as “Light My Fire” and “Break on Through,” was found dead at the age of 27 in the bathtub of his Paris apartment in 1971. He was buried at Père-Lachaise, a cemetery filled with other famous figures including Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, and Edith Piaf.

Fans have been flocking to the singer’s gravesite ever since, especially on special occasions such as the anniversary of his death on July 3. Celebrations there have sometimes gotten rowdy, with police being forced to disperse a crowd in 1991 using tear gas.

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The 300-pound bust made by Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin was added to Morrison’s tombstone on the 10th anniversary of his death, then disappeared seven years later.

Jeff Jampo, manager of Morrison’s estate, told CNN that he’s “happy to hear” the bust was found. 

“Obviously it’s a piece of history, and one Jim’s family wanted there on his grave, so it’s gratifying to see that it’s been recovered. Now we’ll have to see what kind of shape the bust is in,” he told the outlet.

There has been no indication of what will be done now that the bust has been found.

“I think it would be incredible if they put the bust back onto where it was and it would attract so many more people, but the cemetery wouldn’t even be able to hold that many people,” Paris tour guide Jade Jezzini said, according to the Associated Press. “The amount of people who would rush in here just to see the bust to take pictures of it, it would be incredible.”