LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) -Jeff Chapman-Crane is an award-winning painter whose works have been featured in The American Artist Magazine.

He paints portraits and paintings that tell the story of the people in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

He takes those paintings to art exhibits nationwide to share them with fellow artists.

It was after one of these shows 33 years ago that Crane made a surprising discovery.

“I came that morning to load the paintings up and discovered that five of the boxes were missing and so we called the sheriffs and they sent people over and took fingerprints but nothing came of it,” Crane said.

In those boxes were six newly made paintings that Crane made.

An investigation occurred after the paintings were reported stolen, but no arrests were made and the paintings were never found.

Over time Crane believed that his paintings were lost forever, but 33 years later he received a call from a man claiming to have the paintings.

The individual said he found them while cleaning his father’s house.

After the call, Crane went to go get them back and after not knowing the condition of his paintings for 33 years, having them back was a relief.

“It’s like something being returned to you that you thought was gone for good,” Crane said. “It is sort of that same feeling something that was important to you was lost and now it has been returned.”

Now that the paintings are back in his possession, Crane said that he plans to make copies of them so he can sell them to people.

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