Return of the ‘Star Wars’ toys: ‘Jedi theme’ prevails

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — A Vancouver resident whose pricey collection of Star Wars memorabilia was stolen in late October says, thanks to police, most of his Jedis, Ewoks and Imperial fighters are back on their shelves.

“Everybody pooled together to help me out,” Richard Bates said. “I’m so grateful.”

Bates says he’s relieved nearly 80% of his Star Wars collection was returned after someone stole the toys out of his home. The collection, he says, is worth around $30,000.

Many of the stolen collector’s items were sold to a local resale shop. The store owner and online buyers immediately returned the stolen toys to Bates, who says he’s grateful for their honesty.

“I want to thank them all because I know it might have come out of a cost of their pocket,” he said.

He’s also grateful for detective Ryan Preston and a group of local police officers who returned some stolen items to him, personally.

“It’s nice to see that someone went the extra mile to get something back,” Bates said. “Three officers brought it by, they were pretty happy about it too.”

Bates is still looking for the other 20% of his Star Wars collection that’s still missing.

With the new Star Wars movie soon to be released, he says he understands this is a “perfect time for people to steal my stuff and sell it.”

“All of this stuff is extremely rare,” Bates said. “The better part of my savings was wrapped up in these things.”

He’s hopeful what’s still missing from his collection will someday be returned. He says, the amount of toys he’s already gotten back shows that people have the power to walk the way of a Jedi.

“It’s a big testament to the Star Wars community and I like to see that a lot of people hold the Jedi theme close to their heart,” Bates said. “Just doing what’s right when it doesn’t feel good, that’s what it’s all about.”

Police initially had a few leads on who may have stolen Bates’ Star Wars collection, but so far no arrests have been made.