The Swedish royal family's crown jewels were stolen from the Strängnäs Cathedral earlier this week in broad daylight during a heist that ended in a speedboat chase.
On Monday, two thieves took the two priceless historical crowns and a royal orb before jumping into a getaway speedboat moored below the cathedral. The 17th-century crowns belonged to King Karl IX and his wife, Queen Kristina.
Tom Roswell called the police after witnessing the heist take place. "One of my friends saw two people running," he told the Daily Mail.
"I saw the boat just there, a white little boat with a motor on the back. The two men hurriedly jumped on board. I knew immediately they were burglars because of the way they were behaving…the fact that the boat was waiting, it was obvious to me that they were burglars."
Shortly after, police were on their tail, chasing their speedboat with their own boats, planes, helicopters and cars. But the thieves somehow got away and authorities have been stumped as to how they managed to disappear.
"It's 1-0 to them right now," Thomas Agnevik, a Swedish police spokesperson, said. "By boat you can reach Mälaren, Köping or Arboga in the west, or Västerås, Eskilstuna or Stockholm if you drive east."
Agnevik said the stolen jewels were priceless and could not be assigned a numeric value. "I have talked to a person at the county administrative board that says that it is not possible to put an economic value on this," he said. "These are invaluable objects of national interest."
In a news release on Tuesday, authorities launched an appeal to witnesses who might have information that could lead to the thieves. "Anyone who has seen the boat or has other information to leave should call the police at 114 14. Let the police determine what is interesting information," it said.
"It should be a smaller, open motorboat. The color is somewhat unclear, according to the testimonials that have been received so far."
After King Karl IX and Queen Kristina died, the crowns were buried with them until they were later exhumed and placed inside the cathedral for display. According to Quartz, the items were stolen from a locked glass box during the middle of the day when the cathedral was open to visitors.
"This is part of the national cultural heritage—this is a theft from Swedish society," Christofer Lundgren, dean of the cathedral, said.
Although the thieves have managed to evade detection so far, they will undoubtedly run into trouble when they try to exchange the prized jewels for money.
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