Officials initially blamed the rupture on nearby construction but later decided it may have been due to both the age of the pipe and ground settlement. Lawrence University Suffers Theft of Rare Books Upon returning to work Monday, January 17, library staff discovered that 11 rare volumes had been stolen from the Heritage Room of Lawrence University's Mudd Library. The Appleton, Wisconsin, college has worked with law enforcement authorities to ask rare book dealers throughout the state to be alert for the missing items. The thief forced open a locked cabinet to reach the books, Appleton Police Detective Dan Woodkey told the Lawrence University Lawrentian. Woodkey suggested the thief may have been interrupted, as a number of unidentified items were left behind.
Police have no suspects in the ongoing investigation.
Two men were arrested January 29 in connection with the theft of literary treasures from the public library in Armagh, Northern Ireland, in December. Philip Joseph Monks of Armagh and Arthur McShane of Dublin were stopped by police at Dublin Airport and charged with handling stolen goods.