In a bizarre twist of fate following my reposting of the Paris chapter of Cities of the Dead, this story surfaced about an hour or so back: Jim Morrison’s Stolen Gravesite Statue Finally Found.

French police stumbled upon the long-lost marble bust of Jim Morrison during a completely unrelated fraud investigation. They haven’t released many details yet, so it’s still unclear who removed the statue or where it’s been hiding all this time (neither do they mention anything about The Little Mermaid - you have to read the Cities of the Dead piece, inside gag). There’s also no word on whether it’ll be returned to Morrison’s grave.

A representative for the Morrison estate told Rolling Stone they were “happy to hear the news” of the statue’s recovery, adding: “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.”

The bust, created by Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin, was placed at Morrison’s gravesite in 1981 on the 10th anniversary of his death. During its seven years there, it became a magnet for fan devotion—covered in graffiti, and slowly chipped away by souvenir hunters. A photo released by French authorities shows the bust still bearing the scars: it’s scrawled with writing and missing its nose.

I’ll keep my eye on this story and update as it goes along. Weird huh.