Portland police arrested 39-year-old Benjamin T. Moore, accusing him of giving away and selling miniature horses stolen from a rental car belonging to a visitor to the city. Molly Vorek, a 29-year-old Idaho resident, had come to a model horse show and lost her entire collection—about 100 one-of-a-kind resin figurines and models with custom finishes, worth roughly $10,000. The car was broken into overnight Saturday into Sunday; the day before, Vorek had won the show’s “Best in Show” award. She reported the theft to police and began searching for the figurines.
A security guard at Powell’s Books told her that a man had been giving away the little horses and selling them for $5 each. Vorek managed to recover one figurine, and police received two more from members of the public; at least eight other models have been reported. Moore was booked into the county jail on five counts of receiving stolen property and one count of second-degree theft, but he has not been linked to the car break-in. Police are continuing to look for witnesses and figurines. Vorek asks anyone who has one to contact police first to avoid scams or ransom demands. She will cover shipping costs and reimburse anyone who paid to recover a model.
Based on: Police arrest suspect in Portland model horse heist