Couple Find Olympics Souvenirs Stolen, Estimate Loss at $250,000

One of the world’s largest collections of modern Olympics memorabilia has been reported stolen from a storage locker in Los Alamitos, police said Monday.

The memorabilia belonged to Huntington Beach residents John and Virginia Torney, who are now living elsewhere in California.

The Torneys estimated their loss at $250,000 and told police the memorabilia included medals, badges, pins, coins and rings from Olympic Games beginning in 1896 to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Most of the loss was from the Los Angeles Games of 1932 and from the Berlin Games of 1936, the Torneys said.

Detective Vic Cantu said the theft occurred sometime since the last time the Torneys checked their storage locker in the 10900 block of Portal Street or about eight to 12 weeks ago. When they rechecked the locker three weeks ago, the Torneys discovered the property issing and told police.

Police released news of the theft on Monday. Cantu was not available late Monday to explain why the police report of the theft was not released earlier.