Twain’s plaque, recovered (via Ray Finger)

Over the weekend, the Elmira Police Department announced they had recovered the plaque that had been removed from Mark Twain’s grave between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Yesterday, we learned that an arrest had been made: Daniel M. Ruland, of Elmira, was detained and charged with two misdemeanors—petit larceny and fifth-degree criminal possession of property. Felony charges may follow, depending on the plaque’s appraised value. Although moderate damage has been sustained, it will be returned to Twain’s grave once its time in Elmira’s evidence locker is up.

A tip led to Ruland’s arrest. The Star Gazette provided further details:  “On Friday, just before midnight, police said they made contact with occupants of a vehicle leaving Ruland’s residence and said the plaque was recovered from the vehicle.”

Questions remain, however. The Elmira Police Department is clearly not disclosing much information and the reporting done by the Star Gazette, the local paper, seems entirely dependent on the police. It’s suggested, for instance, that Ruland was not one of the “occupants” in the vehicle departing Ruland’s residence with the plaque, but there’s nothing about their role—it’s unclear if charges are pending for anyone other than Ruland. Similarly, while the damage done to the plaque indicates that it was pried off, there’s nothing about how the plaque was removed.

Which brings us to the biggest question of all: Why? According to the Star Gazette, Ruland had no comment as he was escorted in police custody. The police also didn’t disclose details about either the heist or the tip they received that led them to arrest Ruland; the Star Gazette had nothing to add. (For more on the challenges facing small town newspapers, read Robert McChesney and John Nichols’s excellent, and only slightly depressing, book The Death and Life of American Journalism.) Because the police didn’t supply a motive and because the Star Gazette only printed the information the police supplied, Ruland’s potential motive is still unclear.

A 32-year-old Daniel M. Ruland of Elmira, however, appeared in United States Bankruptcy Court late last year. Whether or not it’s the same “Daniel M. Ruland” or if it bears any relationship to the theft is unclear—the Elmira Police Department didn’t provide an address. (It’s worth adding that the Daniel M. Ruland in Bankruptcy Court lived on Elmira’s east side, whereas the Elmira Police have Ruland residing on the city’s west side. People move, of course, though  I somehow doubt there are two 32-year-old Daniel M. Ruland’s in a small town like Elmira—I’m from there, in case you were wondering why I’m so interested in this story—but it’s worth pointing out that this is neither definitive nor necessarily related.)

Elmira’s had a rough 2015. Brian Williams, another famous former resident of Elmira, was suspended without pay for six months misrepresenting a number of details about events that occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003. Williams and Twain both share a spot on the city’s garish Welcome sign.

We’ll update this story as more information becomes available. You can read my essay about Elmira’s complicated relationship with its past here.