A professional cat burglar who allegedly stole millions worth of sterling silver from homes in Buckhead, Athens and other southeastern cities has been caught, according to a report in onlineathens.com.
Blane David Nordahl, 51, dubbed the “Silver Bandit” cut out window panes and entered occupied homes without waking residents, authorities said. Similar burglaries in Buckhead had Atlanta police on high alert. A detective from Atlanta headed a task force formed to track down the bandit, according to onlineathens.
The task force got help from a retired New Jersey detective who recognized a familiar pattern, according to a report in the New York Times.
Nordahl was arrested in Hilliard, Fla., near Jacksonville, after his home there was raided.
Authorities believe Nordahl stole more than $4 million worth of silver during more than 70 burglaries in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to onlineathens.
The bandit was busy in Athens in July, according to authorities. On July 8, he may have stolen $5,000 worth of sterling silver flatware, bowls and cups. A week later, $20,000 in sterling silver items was stolen from a second home. The next day, a set of sterling silver flatware, valued at $5,000, was taken from a third home.
Onlineathens and other websites reported that the discerning thief only steals sterling silver, leaving behind silver-plated items. Nordahl also has earned his own Wikipedia page that claims he burglarized homes of such celebs as Ivana Trump, Bruce Springsteen and Curt Gowdy.
The New York Times article on Nordahl ties him to a burglary at the home of Atlanta collector Beverly DuBose III, owner of a large collection of Civil War artifacts. Nordahl may have stolen more than $77,000 worth of silver while the collector and his wife slept, according to the article.
Read more about the alleged "Silver Bandit" in onlineathens.
