Jim Morrison statue found by chance nearly 4 decades after it was stolen from Doors singers Paris grave

This is the end … of the search.Police discovered a long-lost statue of The Doors’ frontman Jim Morrison during an unrelated search nearly four decades after it was stolen from his Paris cemetery plot, according to a report.The sculpture, which has been missing since 1988, was found by chance during a police search for a fraud case led by Paris prosecutors, a source told AFP.The white marble bust of the “Riders on the Storm” singer — made by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin — was placed at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris on the 10th anniversary of Morrison’s death in 1981.

The infamous sculpture, weighing nearly 300 pounds, did not appear damaged beyond the graffiti and its broken nose, which were already there when the bust went missing 37 years ago, according to newly released pictures.Morrison’s gravesite — situated in an area called the “Poets Corner”– has attracted hordes of fans since the 27-year-old was laid to rest in 1971, according to the BBC.In 1991, a riot broke out on the 20th anniversary of his death, and tear gas was used to disperse the rowdy crowd, the outlet said.Since then, a guard has been permanently stationed at Morrison’s grave, the New York Times reported in 1993.Morrison was found dead in 1971 in the bathtub of his Paris apartment.

His official cause of death was listed as congestive heart failure, though no autopsy was performed, according to the Guardian.In February, a footbridge spanning across a basin near the Bastille in the center of the French capital was named after the rock and roll icon, local outlets reported....