Stolen Jim Morrison Graveside Bust Found After 37 Years

The long-missing marble bust of Jim Morrison, which had been missing for nearly four decades, has been rediscovered in what Paris prosecutors have described as a "chance discovery."

French police revealed that they were conducting a fraud investigation when they unexpectedly discovered the bust of The Doors' front man, which was marked with graffiti and notably missing part of its nose, according to an announcement on social media Monday.

Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin carved the piece as a tribute to Jim Morrison, completing it after the rock icon's death, The Guardian reported. The bust was eventually placed at Morrison's final resting place in Paris's Père-Lachaise cemetery in 1981, marking 10 years since the singer died in the city at age 27.

Seven years after it was set in place, the bust vanished, sparking a wave of speculation. Some stories claimed that two fans made off with the 282-pound sculpture on a moped at night. Others theorized that officials had deliberately removed and concealed it to safeguard it from further damage.

In 1994, two Americans were detained after trying to install their own bronze replica of the bust at Morrison's burial site. Todd Mitchell said that he traveled from Utah and used a large chunk of his retirement money to recreate the missing bust. He recalled the surprised look on a security guard's face when he and his nephew were caught in the dark trying to secure the sculpture to Morrison's grave.

"He just looked dumbfounded … Most people are destroying stuff in that cemetery," Mitchell told The Salt Lake Tribune in 1994.

As of Monday, there was still no clear information about whether the bust would be returned to the singer's tomb. Benoît Gallot, the curator of Père-Lachaise cemetery, told Le Figaro that police had not made contact, and he was not sure whether the bust would be returned.