The Observatory targeted by burglar while owner is out ill, police say

Betsy Longenbaugh remembers taking a trip through the Netherlands with her mother, The Observatory bookstore owner Dee Longenbaugh, and on that trip her mother tried using a map from the medieval time period to get around.

“It’s one of my favorite stories of my mother,” Longenbaugh said. Her mother has collected maps from all over the world and ever since 1977, she’s shared the history that she’s collected with Alaskans through her popular shop.

A recent reported burglary at the bookstore on the corner of North Franklin and Third streets may have permanently erased portions of that extensive history collection.

[Exploring Alaska through books and maps]

The Juneau Police Department received a report that a theft took place the night of Sept. 2 at The Observatory bookstore and at a private business office in the same building as the bookstore.

JPD spokesman Lt. David Campbell said there appeared to be a forced entry through a door that leads to the main stairwell in the building. Access was also gained through a broken rear window near an alleyway.

“We collected items for possible evidence,” Campbell said, adding that he couldn’t say which items were collected and it would be several weeks before any results come back from the crime lab.

As many Juneau residents have noticed since April, the bookstore has been closed with a sign on the door that mentions the owner is ill and unable to work. Betsy said her 82-year-old mother took the news of the shop’s burglary hard and is hoping that the community will heed the call of the Juneau Crime Line to report any information about the incident in return for a possible reward of up to $1,000.

Longenbaugh described the scene of her mother’s shop when she checked in on it after the burglary and said she was saddened by the “violent scene.”

“Once (the burglars) were in, they trashed the place,” she said. “It was just a hurricane of a mess.”

Longenbaugh said the door that was knocked down was blocked by a bookcase and it must have taken extreme force to move it. There also seemed to be no organization to the crime, with some of the more valuable items left on the floor and stacks of papers thrown across the room.

Near the doorway where the alleged burglar or burglars entered, a box of “bright” objects was left behind, Longenbaugh said. It had items like an inexpensive clock, pens and a couple of maps stashed inside. They’re items she said she imagines someone thought would be valuable and easy to exchange for cash.

Other items that may have gone missing, however, are less likely to show up in a common pawn shop.

Longenbaugh said several prints and maps that her mother collected from all over Alaska and the world of extreme historical value could be missing as well, but the family doesn’t yet have an up-to-date inventory check-list. She said if someone is approached with what looks like a sketched drawing of aboriginal Alaskans or of Alaska flora, it could be a stolen pieces of work from her mother’s shop.

[Dee Longenbaugh shares passion for Russian America history, antiquarian maps]

This all comes at time when the family is “discussing (their) options” in regards to keeping the shop open in light of their mother’s illness. Everyone in the family has an emotional connection to the shop and would like to see it stay open, but none more than shopkeeper Dee Longenbaugh, her daughter said.

“We have been overwhelmed with supportive messages and messages of concern,” Longenbaugh said. “(My mother) has just gotten so many cards and well wishes. My whole family is grateful for that. It means an enormous amount to mom.”

Lt. Campbell said police do not have any leads or suspects at this time. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact police at 586-0600, or the Juneau Crime Line at juneaucrimeline.com. Tipsters are guaranteed anonymity and can be rewarded.

• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.