What happens when the world’s most iconic pair of shoes—the ruby slippers of Oz—are stolen from your town? For this cover story in the Washington Post Magazine I traveled to the small town of Grand Rapids, Minn to find out. Filled with gossip, obsession, mobsters, pit mine lakes, and false leads, this is an account of the 13-year hunt for answers that ended in a massive FBI sting operation. My article was the first to break the news of the man found in possession of the shoes, and it became the most-read story on the Washington Post site when it published in the 2019. Read the full story here.
