Cst. Mike Della-Paolera returning the 1979 Wayne Gretzky rookie hockey card to Ian Moore (Submitted photo/Kelowna RCMP)

By Liam Verster

Card stolen in 2015

RCMP reunite owner with Wayne Gretzky rookie card

May 3, 2022 | 1:53 PM

A 1979 Wayne Gretzky rookie card that has been missing for over six years has been returned to its rightful owner.

The card was among a selection of vintage hockey cards stolen during a break and enter at a business on Byland Road in West Kelowna in 2015.

Kelowna RCMP’s investigation eventually went cold after investigative avenues dried up and the case was concluded.

Then in 2019, Mounties responded to a suspicious vehicle in the area of Boyce Crescent in Kelowna. Officers located a man and woman in a pick-up truck at the scene who had an abundance of suspected stolen property in the vehicle.

The pair was arrested for possession of property obtained by crime and the items were seized and taken to the Kelowna detachment where they were stored as exhibits. Included in the items recovered in that seizure was a 1979 Wayne Gretzky rookie card.

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Personnel working in the exhibit area came across the hockey card again in mid-April 2022 as they were disposing of the stolen property seized during the investigation. After doing some research on the potential value, the personnel informed the officers that the card was in their possession

“When I learned there was a vintage hockey card in exhibits, I immediately remembered the investigation from 2015,” stated Cst. Rick Goodwin of the Kelowna RCMP Target Team.

“I dug-up the details of the old file and was able to track down Mr. [Ian] Moore. I was surprised to learn he still had my old business card I had given him years earlier.”

Ian Moore attended the detachment and, without seeing the card, was able to identify it by providing an exact description that included unique details only the rightful owner would know. He also had records and documents confirming his ownership.

On April 26, 2022, Moore attended the detachment and was reunited with his card.

“I am very impressed by the efforts made by Cst. Goodwin, the work he put into this investigation and how he remembered the theft of my hockey cards after so many years,” said Moore.

“I am grateful for all the hard work that has been done to return my card.”

CBS Sports reports that a rare mint condition 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card sold at auction for $3.75-million in May of 2021.

All Vintage Cards reported that a mint condition Gretzky Topps rookie card was sold for $200,000 at auction in 2016, though lower grade copies can generally be found for $600.