(Reuters) - Police in Ohio are searching for a solid-gold model of the module that carried Neil Armstrong to the lunar surface in 1969 that was reported stolen from a museum in the hometown of the first astronaut to set foot on the moon, authorities said on Sunday.
Police discovered the miniature replica was missing from the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta after responding to a burglary alarm just before midnight on Friday, according to a statement released on Saturday.
A police spokesman on Sunday said the model, presented to Armstrong in Paris soon after the Apollo 11 mission, had yet to be located.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting with the case.
Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon in July 21, 1969, was born near Wapakoneta, about 90 miles northwest of Columbus. He is perhaps best known for his words after setting foot on the lunar surface: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
The replica, measuring 5 inches high and 4.5 inches square, is one of three that the renowned French jeweler Societe Cartier designed and fabricated, one for each of the astronauts on the mission, the statement said. "Theft from a museum is a theft from all of us," the museum said on its Facebook page.
Museum officials could not be reached on Sunday for further comment.
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Apollo 11 Moon Landing
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UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1754: US Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, walking on the Moon July 20 1969. Taken during the first Lunar landing of the Apollo 11 space mission by NASA. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)
Photograph of Astronaut Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 space mission. Dated 1969. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - JULY: The crew of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission, the astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin are in quarantine after their return from the moon in the United States in Luly 1969. (Photo by Frederic CASTEL/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - MAY 21: Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, was launched on 16th July 1969 and Neil Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the Moon on 20th July 1969. The third member of the crew, Command Module pilot Michael Collins, remained in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. Aldrin was the Lunar Module pilot on the mission. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
376713 11: (FILE PHOTO) A view of the Earth appears over the Lunar horizon as the Apollo 11 Command Module comes into view of the Moon before Astronatus Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. leave in the Lunar Module, Eagle, to become the first men to walk on the Moon's surface. The 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon mission is celebrated July 20, 1999. (Photo by NASA/Newsmakers)
UNITED STATES - MAY 30: Aldrin is shown beside the foot of the Lunar Module. Apollo 11, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong - Commander, Michael Collins - Command Module pilot and Edwin Aldrin - Lunar Module pilot, was the first manned lunar landing mission. It was launched on 16th July 1969 and Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the moon on 20th July 1969. Collins remained in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. The astronauts returned to Earth on 24th July 1969. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
IN SPACE - JULY 11: The American Flag Is Planted On The Lunar Surface By The Men Of Apollo 11 In July 1969. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - MAY 08: Aldrin is shown deploying the Passive Seismic Experiments Package (PSEP) on the lunar surface. The PSEP was one of the experiments that were carried out during the lunar landing missions. Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, was launched on 16th July 1969 with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin �Buzz� Aldrin and Michael Collins on board, and Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the Moon on 20th July 1969. Collins, the Command Module pilot, remained in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - MAY 17: Aldrin became the second man to walk on the Moon after he stepped off this ladder on 20th July 1969. The picture was taken by Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon. The third member of the Apollo 11 crew, Michael Collins, remained in lunar orbit in the Apollo Command and Service Module while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
The Apollo Lunar Module known as the Eagle descends onto the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission, 20th July 1969. This is a composite image comprised of two separate shots. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
A television screen grab shows the members of mission control waving flags and celebrating the splashdown and return of the crew of the Apollo 11, Texas, July 1969. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
Apollo 11 Splashdown - Hushed crowd watches on mobile TV setup at 53d St. and Park Ave., as moon men return. (Photo By: Jack Smith/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - MAY 17: The Apollo 11 rocket is on its mobile launch platform just after roll out from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Centre, Cape Canaveral, Florida, on its way to Launch Complex 39A. Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, was launched on 16th July 1969 with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin �Buzz� Aldrin and Michael Collins on board, and Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the Moon on 20th July 1969. Collins, the Command Module pilot, remained in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - APRIL 15: The Apollo 11 launch vehicle is on its mobile launch platform just after roll out from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Centre, Cape Canaveral, Florida, on its way to Launch Complex 39A. Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, was launched on 16th July 1969 with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin �Buzz� Aldrin and Michael Collins on board, and Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the Moon on 20th July 1969. Collins, the Command Module pilot, remained in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. The massive Saturn V rocket, over 100 metres tall, was the largest rocket ever built and was used on all the Apollo missions to the Moon. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - MAY 08: Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin �Buzz� Aldrin standing by a boiler plate Apollo capsule on the deck of the NASA vessel Retriever during water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico. Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, was launched on 16th July 1969 and Neil Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the Moon on 20th July 1969. Command Module pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. The astronauts returned to Earth on 24th July 1969. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
UNSPECIFIED - JULY 24: US Navy pararescueman Lt. Clancey Hatleberg disinfects Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. after getting into the life raft during recovery operations on July 24, 1969 at the completion of their successful lunar landing mission. (Photo by 8383/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - MAY 14: This picture was taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts on their journey to the moon. Spain, North Africa and the Middle East can clearly be seen. Apollo 11, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin �Buzz� Aldrin and Michael Collins, was the first manned lunar landing mission. It was launched on 16th July 1969 and Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the moon on 21st July 1969. Collins remained in lunar orbit. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - MAY 29: This view of the Earth appearing above the lunar horizon was taken by astronauts during the Apollo 11 mission. Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, was launched on 16th July 1969 with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin �Buzz� Aldrin and Michael Collins on board, and Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second men to walk on the Moon on 20th July 1969. Collins, the Command Module pilot, remained in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. The astronauts returned safely to Earth on 24th July 1969. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
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