In 2009, a pair of thieves got into the René Magritte Museum in the Brussels suburb of Jette, located in the artist’s former home, and stole Olympia, a reclining nude portrait of his wife. The painting was returned two years later, after what amounted to a ransom payment by the museum’s insurer. The assumption had been that the robbers were connected to an Eastern European organized crime ring; in fact, the apparent thief went on to take part in Belgium’s worst ever terrorist incident. Here’s how the police officers involved figured that out — along with why the perp wasn’t caught and kept in custody. – Vanity Fair
