The theory went like this: Shaw had paid someone to steal the shoes so he could collect the insurance money. He was questioned by the authorities.
The insurer sued Shaw, the museum and its director. In 2007, they settled, and Shaw received $800,000. “They realized I had nothing to do with it,” he said.
Other people believed local kids had taken the slippers as a prank and thrown them into an old mine pit. “There's a lot of theories surrounding this,” one private investigator said.