Thieves swipe safe filled with treasures, including lock of Alexander Hamilton's hair

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Amanda Bushong is offering a $5,000 reward for the return of her stolen safe, which is packed with highly valuable trinkets ranging from rare coins and stamps to a lock of hair from Alexander Hamilton.

“That was the furthest thing from my mind, that somebody would come in and steal a 500-pound safe that’s in your garage. It was hidden in the garage,” said the Northland, Missouri, woman.

A neighbor’s surveillance camera captured images at 3:30 a.m. Thursday of men in a white SUV who picked the lock on Bushong's husband’s car and then opened the garage door with the garage remote in the car.

“They picked the lock to it, open the garage, and like I said, waited to see if anyone came out and nobody did,” Bushong said. “Our lovely basset hound, who hears everything, did not hear anything that night obviously.”

The thieves then loaded the massive safe into the white SUV using a dolly.

“Somebody knew, somebody knew it was there,” she said.

Bushong’s parents were noted historical collectors. Among the treasures inside the safe were coins from someone who rode with Jesse James and authenticated locks of hair from Alexander Hamilton and Jefferson Davis.

“Right now, they’re estimating over $100,000 for each of (the locks of hair),” Bushong said.

Bushong, who said she was in the process of insuring the items at the time of the theft, said she’s hoping that someone who knows something will do the right thing.

“You don’t have to leave a name or anything (for the $5,000 reward),” she said. “But you can definitely call the Gladstone Police Department, and they are very much aware of this as well.”