An Arizona family, who recently visited the Bay Area, is pleading for help after they say someone stole tens of thousands of dollars in Navajo jewelry from them.
Noah Kaminski and his grandmother are Navajo jewelry artists from Flagstaff, Arizona. They were in the Bay Area last weekend for a powwow at Stanford.
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WATCH HERELast Thursday after a 12-hour drive, they checked into the Aloft Hotel in west San Jose. The next morning, thieves appeared to have drilled a hole through a hotel lock and stole the jewelry the family brought to sell at the event.
“It was just devastating to see all of our hard work, our livelihood, gone,” Kaminski said.
Maryetta Jackson has been making jewelry for 50 years now. She told NBC Bay Area that the collection included precious stones she’s placed and bands she’s crafted during that time.
“These people that took these items. I wish they would think about giving them back to us,” she said.
Kaminski estimates the value of the jewelry is roughly over $175,000 and they added that insurance won’t cover it.
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They hope someone out there recognizes their jewelry trying to be sold because it has special features on every piece including a "H and J" trademark.
“Anyone out there that has seen our pieces either in pawn shops or online being sold, our mark was on every piece that was taken,” Jackson said.
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SIGN UP They’re upset they weren’t able to be a vendor and sell their items at the Stanford powwow. And more so, that the thousands of pieces they’ve hand crafted are gone.
“When we left California, I felt as though I had left a family member behind because i wasn’t bringing my jewelry home. So, it’s been a hard experience, it’s been very emotional. I’ve been not sleeping very well because of this so it’s been hard,” Jackson said.
San Jose police are investigating the theft. So far, there are no word on any suspects.
